I wonder how Americans of a certain vintage explain 1968 to their grandchildren. “Well, kid, we had an assassination of a public figure. Then another. No, not those two. Those were gunned down earlier in the decade. Also, a segregationist won five states in the presidential election. Riots happened from which some cities never recovered. The Democrats held a convention in which the police rioted. Vietnam? Such were the protests, the president, who had angled for the job since he was a Texas road digger, relinquished it without a fight. Elvis’s comeback was quite the tonic, but still.”
我想知道某个年代的美国人是如何向他们的孙子解释1968年的。“嗯，孩子，我们有一位公众人物被暗杀了。然后又有一位。不，不是那两位。那两位在十年前就被枪杀了。此外，一位种族隔离主义者在总统选举中赢得了五个州。骚乱发生后，一些城市再也没有恢复过来。民主党召开大会，警察在会上闹事。越南？抗议活动如此激烈，这位从得克萨斯州的掘路工起家并一直谋求这个职位的总统，毫无抵抗地放弃了它。猫王(Elvis)的复出是一剂强心剂，但依然无济于事。”