I was a student activist in the early 1970’s when I was at Northwestern University. I could not be considered a student radical, but being caught up in the zeitgeist, I mixed with that type often enough to discern certain traits among some of them that convinced me not to go any further in that direction. Among these traits were a pack mentality, a willingness to play fast and loose with facts, and a belief that the ends justify the means. Some were just self-righteous and overzealous; other were angry, frustrated and somewhat neurotic people, what we called a little “messed up.” Irrespective, they clung to their cause, ending the war with North Vietnam, and they were certain of their own virtue.
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