Essay

Part Seven — Woodstock Nation

By Garry Bassin

Forty years ago an estimated 300,000 people gathered in upstate New York for a music festival that would change the world. With 32 performances over a three-day period it should have just been an ordinary outdoor concert, but evolved to become an event that has never been forgotten. Although it started off being a ticketed concert, so many people came that it became a free show. The traffic jams also became famous, with the closing of the New York State Thruway. It remains to this day one of the most important gatherings of the entire '60s generation. The documentary that was made during the festival won the Academy Award for best feature documentary and has just recently been released on Blu-ray. Charles Schultz even named a character Woodstock in his "Peanuts" cartoons.

When we look at the footage now we see a bunch of naked people playing in the mud at a huge concert, but the ripple effect of those three days cannot be underestimated. It's hard to comprehend how important a moment in time this really was, and how much it has affected our lives today. It marks a point in history when music and a particular philosophy of life became one. It established, to the young and old, that there could be peace and harmony, and no racial or other discrimination.

The 300,000 people that were there and the millions that they have influenced are now much older. Although now they all have their own families and jobs like everyone else, they have a different way of thinking than the rest of us. They all know from deep within that they were able to witness cooperation and harmony on a massive scale.

Max Yasgur (the owner of the land where the concert was held) said after the festival, "If we join them, we can turn those adversities that are the problems of America today into a hope for a brighter and more peaceful future."

Now 40 years later, we should all take a moment to reflect on Woodstock, love and peace, discrimination and prejudice. How much did our parents and grandparents do to create a safe and peaceful world for us? How much can each of us do in our own lifetimes to further that peace? Ultimately, it's not the rock concert that is important, but instead the vision and philosophy that it promoted. Together again 40 years later, we can all make a concerted effort to find cooperation between all people and to foster the dream of a harmonious world into reality.

Shukan ST: September 4, 2009

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