Trump Turmoil Is Nothing Compared to 1968’s Siege of Chicago
It would be a mistake today to write off the most resilient, dynamic society on Earth.
A medic wraps a bandage around the head of an injured protester during the violent clashes at the 1968 Democratic convention, held in Chicago
Photographer: Keystone/Hulton ArchiveAnd so there is again to be a high noon in Chicago. Less than a month hence, the Democratic Party will hold one of the most momentous presidential nominating conventions in modern history. Its outcome will ordain whether not just the US, but the world, may be spared the collision with ignorance, caprice, recklessness and even possible dictatorship that is threatened by a second Trump presidency.
A fellow British journalist messaged me this week: “Are you coming to Chicago?” No, I responded — too old. And I’ve been there before. I was in the Windy City at its darkest hour in August 1968, another tumultuous political moment, at least as dramatic and important as next month’s.