LBJ as a Leader

            The majority of what I know about the 1960’s has come from contemporary movies and television. Films such as Forest Gump and Across the Universe and documentaries like VH1’s The Drug Years are some of the best and most interesting that I have ever seen, for they revealed the turmoil and absolute craziness of the time. Since seeing these, I have been extremely interested in the 1960s. In my opinion, no other time period changed the landscape of America as much as the 1960s except for the Civil War. When I think about it, I become somewhat jealous that I did not get to experience this time period, did not get to witness the rebirth of America as my parents did. The 60’s completely changed everything. America was at war both on the home front (the civil rights movement) and abroad (Vietnam), college students held protests and riots (that is, if they weren’t “tuning in, turning off, and dropping out”), great leaders such as JFK, his brother Bobby, and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated, bands like the Beatles and the Grateful Dead revolutionized the sound of music forever, and the nation’s youth took up the flags of both the sexual and drug revolution. America’s newest generations were liberating themselves, while redefining what the red, white, and blue stands for in the process. Other countries opinions of America changed as well: the United States went from being a symbol of hope, freedom, and democracy, to that of tyranny, oppression, and fear. The times were without a doubt, in the words of the Beatles, “Helter Skelter.”

THE FOLLOWING ARE EXAMPLES FROM ACROSS THE UNIVERSE THAT DEPICT CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE 1960s:

THE SEXUAL/DRUG REVOLUTION:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTqcpmbuE7Q 

THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT/RACIAL TENSION:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQNpEET9WqQ

THE VIETNAM WAR:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwB8QiKWodk&feature=related

COLLEGE RIOTS AND PROTESTS:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h7SZTU2Q54&feature=related  

This was easily one of the most chaotic times in the history of America and one man was left to make sure that the country survived: President Lyndon B. Johnson. President Johnson is often given a bad reputation in the eyes of historians and the general public alike. Perhaps he deserves the criticism, but when I reflect back on this time period, I can’t think of any other way that the problems of the time, specifically the war in Vietnam, could have been dealt with. I believe he did the best he could for our nation. I can’t imagine the pressure that he was under every day of his life, having to wake up to chants of “Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?”, the burden that must have been on his shoulders knowing that he was sending young men to their death. Acts such as these affected him deeply. “[He’d] hear those chants-‘Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?’ and [he] knew there was a big gulf between them and [him] which neither of [them] could do much about” (LBJ). Yet, the fact that he didn’t crumble under this immense weight was a testament to the kind of person—the kind of leader that he was. He was willing to make the difficult, and obviously unpopular, choices because he felt that they were the right thing to do. He wasn’t worried about how he would be perceived in history or how his decisions would affect him in the polls. He sacrificed his own popularity and reputation so that our nation could prosper. As LBJ said in his retirement, “I was doing what I thought was right, right for them and right for their country and their future and their children. But they couldn’t see that.” Now, in retrospect, his decisions regarding the war turned out to be the wrong ones, but that is not the point. The point is that he was decisive: he made a decision that he thought was best for the country and stuck with it.

            THE STRESS AND BURDEN CLEARLY AFFECTED LBJ.

While he faltered in ensuring freedom in Vietnam, he made great strides in advancing the equal treatment of Americans. He designed the “Great Society” legislation that included civil rights laws, Medicare, Medicaid, aid to education, and the “War on Poverty.” He went to great lengths to ensure that every American, regardless of race, experienced the true meaning of freedom.

            What I learned from LBJ, and what I hope to apply in my life, is the realization that being a leader isn’t all about glory and honor. It can be a very stressful position that includes making many tough decisions. Yet, when faced with a tough decision, it is vital to be decisive and make what seems to be the best decision for the group, regardless of what the sacrifices may be. That is a true and necessary quality of a great leader. 

LBJ SHOWED GREAT LEADERSHIP THROUGH HIS RESPONSES TO SOME OF AMERICA'S MOST TRYING TIMES.