I’m of an age to remember when dreaming impossible dreams was a formidable lifestyle choice and a call to action; when hope wasn’t some sentimental indulgence but a foundation for reform and accountability; and when it felt like history had turned a corner and cultural, intellectual, and civic currents were converging toward greater openness and mutuality.
The Second World War had ended in devastation, but also in resolve. Out of that cataclysm came institutions meant to secure peace, bipartisan commitments to reconstruction abroad and prosperity at home, and a widely shared belief that democracy, though battered, had prevailed. The early postwar years carried a sober but unmistakable confidence: humanity had stared into the abyss and stepped back.
Civil rights legislation suggested that long-standing injustices could, in fact, be confronted. The space program pointed skyward. Cultural boundaries were softening. Across philosophy, psychology, science and art, there was a growing sense that consciousness and conscience were expanding.
By the late 1950s and into the 1960s, this optimism coexisted with anxiety and tension. Geopolitical rivalry intensified, generational unrest accelerated, and social change pressed institutions to adapt. The atmosphere was unsettled, yet conducive to artistic innovation, spiritual exploration, and civic experimentation.
Read the entire commentary on Substack In The Center Lane With Herb Paine →
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Commentator Herb Paine on the troubling revival of capital punishment in the United States and Israel. -
Commentator Herb Paine documents the Trump administration’s continuing campaign on what he calls "a coordinated effort to narrow, sanitize and control the stories Americans encounter about their own culture and history" and offers an "inventory" of the damage already done — and the implications of allowing it to continue. -
Commentator Herb Paine examines a crucial but under-explored dimension of the current moment: How the Jewish community responds ethically when Jewish continuity intersects with political power in Israel. -
One piece of Arizona's property politics puzzle involves middle housing (sometimes referred to as missing middle housing to highlight the gap between single-family homes and large apartment buildings). Commentator Herb Paine examines the concept and its practical implications. -
From Arizona to New York, it appears that a "new housing economy" is emerging, shaped by short-term rentals and backyard units. Commentator Herb Paine explores how this development is testing the balance between personal profit and the public need for homes and stable communities.
