In September 1971, at the tail end of the many upheavals of the 1960s, John Lennon’s “Imagine” became not only a wildly successful hit song but also an anthem for utopians worldwide. Lennon’s lyrics ask listeners to imagine a world without a heaven or hell, without borders or possessions, and with a “brotherhood of man” living in peace.
The song ends this way:
You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one.
Millions fell in love with “Imagine” and love it still. Others find it as slick and treacly a piece of propaganda ever produced. The serene music and Lennon’s smooth voice are enormously attractive—the song enters the consciousness with the hypnotic ease of water lapping at a shore—yet the lyrics ignore such human realities as the belief in a higher power, the association between possessions and dignity, and the fool’s gold mysticism of a brotherhood of man.
A 1971 Billboard advertisement for John Lennon's "Imagine." Public Domain
In his new book “Stumbling Toward Utopia: How the 1960s Turned Into a National Nightmare and How We Can Revive the American Dream,” Timothy Goeglein begins with a brief look at “Imagine.” Then he demonstrates how radical utopians and the extreme far Left “took a wrecking ball to society and America.“
How Did We Get Here?
Again and again, Goeglein tells readers, he is asked the same questions: “What happened to America? How did we end up in such a mess?” He then delivers his answer, “The latest attempt to create utopia has failed: the 1960s.” “Stumbling Toward Utopia” aims to remind all readers—from Baby Boomers who lived through the 1960s to the Gen Z crew—that the mess we’re in has deep roots and that the past always lives on in the present. The demolitionists who today roam about leveling our culture and discarding our liberties didn’t spring up out of nowhere. They are heirs to a legacy composed of the Vietnam war protests, Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society and the welfare state, the pill and the sexual revolution, the abolition of traditional morality in Hollywood, declining standards in education, and more.
President Johnson formally presented his specific goals for the Great Society during a speech at the University of Michigan, May 1964. University of Michigan/CC BY-SA 4.0
Goeglein wisely resists giving readers a broad chronological history of the 1960s and the subsequent fallout of those watershed years. Instead, he approaches his subject matter by topic, offering, for instance, a chapter on the damages done to religious beliefs over the last seven decades and another on the moral decline of American entertainment. This strategy allows readers to follow more closely the origins of these aberrations and their effects in a particular realm of culture down to the present day.
Hard Evidence
Another strength of “Stumbling Toward Utopia” is Goeglein’s comprehensive deployment of statistics and polls to make his points. Though some readers may find this number crunching a bit overwhelming, this approach is extremely effective, in part because much of this data is irrefutable and should draw readers from different parts of the political spectrum into agreement. In his chapter “The Family Stumble,” for example, Goeglein opens with this paragraph: “Up until the 1960s, the traditional nuclear family—one man, one woman, and at least one child—was seen as the societal ideal. But in the 1960s, the American family came under withering attack and has never been the same since.” Rather than leaving that broad assertion open to debate, Goeglein breaks down that “withering attack,” the forms it has taken, and its harrowing effects on both family life and culture. He quotes from studies conducted via institutions and groups. He includes commentary from political and cultural leaders like Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who long ago warned about the dire consequences of welfare for single mothers on black families. He cites sources from several university professors, liberal and conservative, and reports issued by institutions like the Harvard School of Public Health. In this chapter alone, he provides at least 26 sets of data and statistics relating to the well-being of the family. Goeglein ties these family matters into other chapters in the book, like “The Fiscal Stumble” and “The Religious Stumble.” This back-and-forth play in the narrative weaves together the issues he raises and demonstrates their interconnectivity.Despising America
In the chapter “The Civility Stumble,” Goeglein examines today’s diminished patriotism, particularly among the young. It’s “a culmination of the disrespect for America and its institutions that started in the late 1960s.” At that time, a small vocal minority, the counterculture, attacked American institutions and mocked religion and the family. Led by radicals like Saul Alinsky and Tom Hayden, they set off on a long march through the institutions. Today the descendants of that counterculture have completed this march: They control schools and universities, some corporations, the mainstream media, and the entertainment industry. They win elections and head up government agencies. The counterculture has become the dominant culture. This radical switch has resulted in decreased national pride, as the Left has tried to shame and vilify anyone or any institution that believes in American exceptionalism. “Being a patriot,” Goeglein notes, “now labels you as an ‘extremist’ who is a danger to our nation’s well-being.”The Technology Stumble
In a chapter on civics and civility, Goeglein introduces a major agent in this transformation of American society that didn’t exist in the 1960s: technology. “We have become a country divided against itself: women vs. men, race vs. race, liberals vs. conservatives, children vs. parents. The list goes on and on. The result is a toxic brew of dangerous chemicals—rights over responsibilities, and entitlements over sacrifice. That brew only needed a match thrown upon it to explode. That match was the internet.” In the 1960s, the day’s news arrived on the doorstep in the morning and at specified times on radio and television. In the 21st century, it arrives with the click of a button on a keyboard. Social media and phones—technology only dreamed of 60 years ago—allows the lightning transmission of information. It’s now the norm, allowing the progeny of the ideas born in the 1960s to morph and spread with breathtaking rapidity.Reversing Course
In the book’s last chapter, “Reviving the Dream,” Goeglein offers hope to readers that the influence of the 1960s on American politics and culture is coming to an end. As evidence, he notes the increased attention of parents to what schools are teaching their children, the backlash against corporate and university “wokeness,” and polls that reveal Americans are becoming more socially and culturally conservative.
Polls reveal that Americans are beginning to embrace traditional social values. SeventyFour/Shutterstock
Just as importantly, Goeglein reminds his readers that the 1960s counterculture took decades to grow and gain power, and that it will take decades to reverse those advances. “Those who seek to return America to its founding principles,” he writes, “must start by raising new generations of children who have the critical thinking skills to see through the societal and cultural rot thrust upon them.”
Some readers will likely regard “Stumbling Toward Utopia” as one more conservative manifesto of complaint against the state of today’s culture. Goeglein’s book is a complaint, yes, and a fierce one. Yet because of his extensive use of data and the application of his own critical thinking, his arguments should appeal to all but the most extreme of American citizens. After all, most of us want stronger families, a reduced national debt, and better schools for our children.
A Final Note
Like other authors and columnists who have addressed the abandonment of American values and traditions, Goeglein stresses that solutions will come from individuals and communities, not from a centralized government. Near the end of “Stumbling Toward Utopia,” he leaves readers with this thought: “It all starts with us. If we stop the downward slide of our nation started in the 1960s, it means we must engage, not disengage. We need to be positive lights in our communities, rather than just screaming at the darkness. We need to reach out to those whose lives are collateral damage of the 1960s and provide them with a helping hand and hope, rather than condemning them for actions they have no ability to understand because they have grown up in a culture without a moral compass to guide them.” We have some work to do. Time to roll up our sleeves and get started.
"Stumbling Toward Utopia: How the 1960s Turned Into a National Nightmare and How We Can Revive the American Dream," by Timothy S. Goeglein.
‘Stumbling Toward Utopia: How the 1960s Turned Into a National Nightmare and How We Can Revive the American Dream’
By Timothy S. Goeglein
Fidelis Publishing, Sept. 18, 2024
Hardcover: 192 pages
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