The Port Huron Statement is a call for action, but to whom, or for whom, is Hayden speaking? What does this document tell us about early 1960s American society?
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The Port Huron Statement is a call to action for potential members of the “new left,” which Hayden would like to primarily consist of college educated individuals who grew up in the post- World War II era. In his statement, Hayden both criticizes and emphasizes the importance of the university system in the United States, stating, “the university is located in a permanent position of social influence,” but warning readers that “students leave college somewhat more “tolerant” than when they arrived, but basically unchallenged in their values and political orientations.” Hayden’s disappointment in the American higher education system highlights the call for increasing social activism in the 1960’s. While he recognizes the value of the educational aspects of college, he laments the fact that for all its potential influence, universities settle for simply reproducing and enforcing the status quo instead of making the most out of a what could be a forum for diverse and scintillating discussion. Hayden describes the trademark of American life in the post-war era as “interdependence,” yet without independence, interdependence is rendered obsolete. In the video, one woman mentions attempting to bring individuality to her cookie-cutter suburban home by placing a small cactus on her back porch. in the 1950’s and 1960’s the need for homogeneity as a method of security seemed to overwhelm the trademark American enterprise. Hayden recognizes the incongruence between American values and American practices, shown as he initially reflects on the United States’ reaction to large issues such as racial bigotry and the advent of the nuclear bomb. While many people were galvanized into action in the face of large, un-ignorable events, Hayden reminds the public that we still have a long way to go, since we are still wont to “deliberately ignore, or avoid, or fail to feel all other human problems.”