# People who were around in 1968, what would your reaction have been if THIS happened?

**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-around-in-1968-what-would-your-reaction-have-been-if-this-happened/1000858
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [April 28, 2024, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-around-in-1968-what-would-your-reaction-have-been-if-this-happened/1000858 "2024-04-28T04:10:49Z")
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### Author: ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)
#### Post date: [April 28, 2024, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-were-around-in-1968-what-would-your-reaction-have-been-if-this-happened/1000858/5 "2024-04-28T11:41:48Z")

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In 1968 I was too young to care about the news, so I can’t offer any personal reaction to your ideas. But I might suggest that you take into account one more issue that you haven’t mentioned at all : the draft.

The huge issue in 1968 wasn’t just the war and the deaths of a few soldiers, (many from poor families)…it was the fact that suddenly ALL the boomer kids were facing the draft, and having their private lives interfered with. There is even a thread running right now about the protests.  
[Did the 1960's anti-Vietnam-war protests achieve anything? - #38 by Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-the-1960s-anti-vietnam-war-protests-achieve-anything/1000751/38)

> [@](#):
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> most of them stopped protesting the moment the draft ended.

The draft was what made it personal.  
If you write an alternative history about LBJ, peace talks, Ho Chi Minh, etc…it’s just abstract theory, the stuff that makes for a good discussion in a political science classroom. Put the draft, (or cancellation of it,) in the plot, and you get personal involvement that might make for a better story.

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