What Else Went Up in 1964
1964 was an election year. For those of us who lived at that time, we probably remember the victory that Lyndon Johnson achieved over Barry Goldwater in the presidential election that year. It was decidedly one-sided (486-52 electoral votes; 61.1%-38.5% popular votes). When the dust settled, the Democratic Party had sixty-eight of the one hundred Senate seats and 295 of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives.
Many factors played into all of that. I will leave it to the historians and experts on presidential elections to discuss and debate those things.
Other than the fact that there was an election in 1964, that year was probably a fairly typical one in some ways. One exception to that is that the Beatles came to the United States for their first tour that year, but that is a subject for another time.
One of the ways that 1964 was probably a fairly typical year is that most likely, a number of things went up during the year. I haven’t done the research on all of this but I suspect that the prices of such things as houses, automobiles, food, and a host of other things increased in 1964. That seems to always (or at least typically) be the case. I’m also fairly confident that, along with these things, wages and salaries probably went up somewhat also in 1964.
Something else also went up in 1964. I have done the research on this. I heard a brother make a statement at Polishing the Pulpit that I thought I would check out. I was not surprised to learn that he was right.
He just mentioned some trends and something that happened in the “fashion world.” I did a little digging and found some more information to add to his. What I found was alarming.
Combining what he said with what I found, the facts show that, for the first time in the history of our nation, the number of forcible rapes that were reported exceeded twenty thousand in 1964. That number has never been below twenty thousand since then. In fact, that number has exceeded one hundred thousand in some years since 1964.
So – what else went up in 1964 – and is there any connection?
Are you familiar with the name Mary Quant? Do you know what role she played in 1964?
If not, you might find the following information helpful. I found it on stylecaster.com. It was entitled:
A History of the Miniskirt: How Fashion’s Most Daring Hemline Came To Be
The information was presented in a “timeline” format. Here what was presented for 1964:
1964: If anyone should be credited with pioneering the miniskirt it is British designer Mary Quant. Quant opened what became the iconic boutique Bazaar in 1955 on King’s Road in London’s Chelsea neighborhood. Inspired by the fashions she saw on the streets, Quant raised the hemline of her skirts in 1964 to several inches above the knee, and the iconic miniskirt was born. She named the skirt after her favorite car, the Mini.
So; the number of rapes in our nation went up during the same year that hemlines went up. Could there possibly be any connection?
Maybe Mary Quant, herself, could help to provide an answer to that question. With a little more digging on my part, I found some interesting quotes. For example, she is quoted as saying:
“Good taste is death; vulgarity is life.”
Here is another one of her quotes that should give us an idea about “where she is coming from:”
“Pornography is great if it’s good.”
Those two quotes should be enough to tell us all we need to know about the “worldview” that prompted her to popularize the mini skirt.
Another quote I found was:
“People call things ‘vulgar’ when they are new to them. When they have become old, they become ‘good taste.’”
I invite you to reread that last quote. Could that help to explain the behavior and attitudes of so many today? Could that be at least one reason why so many accept the fact that women (young and not so young) can wear the name of Christ while also choosing to wear clothing that is very revealing – even as they assemble to worship?
I am very concerned about physical violence done to anybody. I am also convinced that many women who are victims of rape are entirely innocent and are, in every sense of the word, victims.
Revealing attire may not always lead to physical assault. Revealing attire can and does lead to sins in which a person may be a willing participant.
Thanks, in part, to Mary Quant I am now concerned about the message being sent by women who choose fashion and popularity over godliness. I am especially concerned when I see a sister in the Lord dressing in a manner that is honestly not appropriate for one who wears His name.
A lot of things went up in 1964. Sadly, one of them has led to a trend downward in morality and decency. Even more sadly, this downward trend may be one of the reasons that those in the world see no difference between them and some of us who call ourselves “Christians.”
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
