The Baby Boomer generation (estimated at around 75 million) became politically active in the 1960s and 1970s, leaving its' mark on society. The sheer size of this human tsunami rolled through American society and fueled the continuing Civil Rights, Gay Rights, and Women's Movements and agitation against war. It also coincided with (caused?) loosening social mores, the sexual revolution, widespread recreational drug use, political correctness, identity politics, diminishment of personal responsibility, and excesses in many areas. The 1960s mantra of "Challenge Authority" was the basis of my political activism. What exactly does "challenge authority" mean? Certainly more than disobeying your parents as a kid. Or calling the police "pigs." Those are juvenile acts of rebellion. Challenging authority is not an attention getting ploy to display your courage or smarts or just for the sake of a good fight. A key component is resisting the temptation to act impulsively. In short, it's okay to break certain rules. But know why the rule exists, and have a good reason for breaking it. In a serious political context, challenging authority does not have to be negative, especially when done with a clear purpose. Challenging authority is a form of nonviolent direct action. You must know what you want to accomplish-hence the need for focus, confidence, and hard facts. A legal/moral/ethical foundation is a prerequisite for such disciplined non-conformity. The title Challenge Authority: Memoir of a Baby Boomer tells it all. Each of the five chapters contains at least a couple of challenge authority stories. In most cases I still believes my challenge, or at least questioning authority, was justified and the correct path. Politics and humor play a prominent role these stories. Some of the 44 stories include my challenging the Selective Service System (The Draft) for 2 1/2 years during the Vietnam War era; learning a Zen-like concern for quality while leaf raking as a work-study student during my undergraduate years; being a war tax resister for many years; hosting an "Untying the Knot" party with my first wife while getting divorced; doing jail time (along with 1,959 others) for civil disobedience in trying to stop the opening of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in California; twice running for Santa Barbara City Council in the mid-1980s as a socialist and being the only candidate to openly support gay and lesbian rights; leaving the Left and becoming a libertarian in the mid-1990s; and bungee jumping out of a hot air balloon on my 40th birthday. Every Baby Boomer, and anyone interested in recent history from the ground level can share the experience of this book on both a rational and deeply emotional level. If you were not there (there being that state of "in the zone" focus on your activity), this is a chance to vicariously experience the intensity, and if you were there you can reminisce about the "old days." Address all inquiries to Tom Garrison at: challengeauthority78@yahoo.com. Consider visiting the Challenge Authority Facebook page. Your comments are welcome.
About the Author: I am the youngest of four children to two Dust Bowl Okies who migrated to Shafter, California in the Central Valley. My family was fairly apolitical, with Republican leanings. I graduated with a BA in political science from California State College, Bakersfield in 1974 (magna cum laude); earned a MA in political science from University of California, Davis in 1976; and finished everything but my PhD dissertation (ABD) in political science at University of California, Santa Barbara in 1980. I began political life as a typical McGovern liberal, moved left to become a card carrying member of the Socialist Party USA, and in the late 1990s evolved into a libertarian. During undergraduate and graduate studies I was active in-on campus politics. As a graduate student at UC Santa Barbara in the late 1970s I led the Graduate Students Association in joining the nationwide Coors beer boycott and several other political campaigns. In 1980 I was arrested, along with hundreds of others, for civil disobedience at the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. From the early 1980s to the mid-1990s I was a hyper-active socialist: twice ran for Santa Barbara City Council openly as a socialist in the mid-1980s; worked with tenants (three city-wide rent control campaigns in seven years), and gays and lesbians (Deb, my wife, was the first heterosexual on the Gays and Lesbian Resource Center Board of Directors); and fought political cultists in California's Peace and Freedom Party (the only socialist party with ballot status in California). During this period I also found time to work full-time as an editor (from 1982 to 2000) of a political science journal published in Santa Barbara. From the early 1980s to 2000, I published several political articles in publications such as Liberty magazine, the Santa Barbara News-Press, the Santa Barbara Independent, The Socialist, Left Out, and Tenants United. From 2000 to 2009, I mostly dropped out of politics and concentrate on my job (Real Property Appraiser for the Santa Barbara County Assessor's Office); building a real estate "empire" (four rental condos); and exploring and hiking the southwestern United States with my wife, Deb, as often as we could get away. Since 2010 (as of December 2013) I have had more than 40 essays published in The Salt Lake Tribune, The Spectrum (local St. George daily newspaper), and the Los Alamos Daily Post. The majority are hiking/travel stories along with some political and humorous essays.