{"id":7502,"date":"2024-11-25T07:25:14","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T12:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/?p=7502"},"modified":"2025-02-18T10:29:49","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T15:29:49","slug":"seven-words","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/11\/25\/seven-words\/","title":{"rendered":"Seven Words"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sixteen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I was sixteen years old in 1972.  We were already four years into the Nixon Presidency. He failed on his election promise to end Vietnam. I hoped that Senator McGovern of South Dakota might finally stop what at that time was America\u2019s longest war.  I was mistaken.  The McGovern campaign self-destructed within days of his nomination, and, as we found out in the next couple of years, Nixon led his campaign to criminally interfere and \u201chelp the destruction along\u201d.  It was called Watergate.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(By the way, thank you President Biden, for \u201cbiting the bullet\u201d and ending America\u2019s new longest war in Afghanistan).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There wasn\u2019t much trust in the government as a whole.  The FBI seemed to spend more effort trying to disrupt student protests and civil rights movement, than they did solving crimes.  The Director was the aging J Edgar Hoover, entering his forty-eighth year at the helm.  His \u201cfiles\u201d on American public figures were legendary, backed up with the full investigatory power of his federal agency.  No one really had authority over Hoover, though Nixon\u2019s campaign manager turned Attorney General John Mitchell was \u201cin charge\u201d.  Hoover did whatever Hoover wanted.  To go against him was a guaranteed swift trip to political oblivion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not On TV<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Comedian George Carlin spoke for a lot of younger Americans when he wrote the ground-breaking \u201cSeven Words\u201d sketch.  It was about the seven words you couldn\u2019t say on TV.  Should one of those words slip out, the Federal Communications Commission could remove a radio or TV station’s license to broadcast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0In the late 1960\u2019s my father had a direct experience with that.\u00a0\u00a0His TV station\u2019s morning news show starring Phil Donahue interviewed Jerry Rubin, one of the seven charged for disrupting the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago.\u00a0\u00a0It was a \u201clive\u201d show.\u00a0\u00a0But Dad inserted a seven second delay, literally taping the show on one machine then stringing the tape across the room to \u201cplayback\u201d on another.\u00a0\u00a0The delay gave Dad time to push the \u201cmute\u201d button for the inevitable profanities that Rubin was famous for.\u00a0\u00a0Missing one might take the Station, WLW-D in Dayton, Ohio, off the air.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We didn\u2019t hear Carlin’s sketch on television or radio.  We had to buy his record, or tape, or \u201cpirate\u201d one from a friend.  So my copy of \u201cSeven Words\u201d was on a homemade cassette tape, mis-labeled as Joni Mitchell\u2019s \u201cClouds\u201d in case Mom or Dad checked.  And it was through this \u201cunderground\u201d method, that Seven Words became famous to an entire generation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Strong Word<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ok, I know, you\u2019ve been waiting to read the \u201cseven words\u201d.  Here\u2019s a link<\/a>. Even in my current obstinant old age I\u2019m not comfortable putting them all on paper (or your screen).   But I am going to use one, the big one, that one that\u2019s never, ever,  OK, even on today\u2019s TV (but fine on cable):  F**K.  It was (and often still is) one of my favorites, and it\u2019s all because of Carlin.  To paraphrase him:  \u201c(It\u2019s) a good word, a strong word.  It could be the name of a hero:  \u201cI am F**K, F**K of the Mountain!!!\u201d  I did shout that from the top of the White Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, the Cascades, the Appalachians, the Western Fells in Great Britain; and several smaller hills throughout my backpacking career.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which gets me back to this essay.  Because, like the late sixties and early seventies, we are entering an era where we might not be able to trust the government.  When I see who might be leading our most important agencies:  Homeland Security, Department of Justice, the CIA and the FBI and the rest; I worry about surveillance and payback.  Trump has already promised \u201cretribution\u201d; and if he ever gets down to \u201cbloggers\u201d (I hate the term, I\u2019m an essayist, G*D  D*MN IT!!), there\u2019s a million words that connect to me (Our America<\/a>).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who\u2019s Listening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As part of Carlin\u2019s skit, he noted this 1960\u2019s concern about surveillance.  He answered his phone and assumed there was an FBI wiretap in place:  \u201cF**K Hoover, can I help you?\u201d  Now, it\u2019s going to be a long two years, or four, or maybe forever until I feel secure from my government again.  With MAGA control of the Presidency, the Congress, and Trump and McConnell\u2019s stolen majority on the Supreme Court; who will speak when they come for me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s why I need to write this essay, so folks won\u2019t be quite so put-off when they hear my new phone greeting. And for the few old \u201chippie\u201d veterans  left from the anti-war movement, I hope it brings a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cF**K Trump, Hi it\u2019s Marty!!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sixteen I was sixteen years old in 1972.  We were already four years into the Nixon Presidency. He failed on his election promise to end Vietnam. I hoped that Senator McGovern of South Dakota might finally stop what at that time was America\u2019s longest war.  I was mistaken.  The McGovern campaign self-destructed within days of his nomination, and, … Continue reading “Seven Words”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nSeven Words : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dahlman.online\/index.php\/2024\/11\/25\/seven-words\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Seven Words : Our America - Essays on Politics and American Life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sixteen I was sixteen years old in 1972.  We were already four years into the Nixon Presidency. He failed on his election promise to end Vietnam. 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