Once upon a time protest mattered.  People got angry at the actions of government and actually acted upon it.  While the protests of today, like Tea Party rallies and Occupy Wall Street, often call attention to a problem, arguably they are not intended to do anything about it.

Back in 60’s and 70’s it was a very different story.  Protests on behalf of  Civil Rights and against the Vietnam War would reach a fever pitch. Buildings were seized, protests were both huge and personal. Draft cards were burned and protesters didn’t just spend a night in jail, but sometimes they went to prison for a long time.

What impact did it all have?  Quite a bit.  People and memoirs from both the Nixon and Johnson administrations show that the level of protest really did impact policy. One of those caught up in the times, in fact he is a Zelig like character throughout this period, is Bruce Dancis.

Long after his protest days, Bruce had a long career as a pop culture critic and editor. including sixteen year as the arts and entertainment editor of the Sacramento Bee. Now he feels that enough time has gone by to tell his tory in Resister: A Story of Protest and Prison during the Vietnam War.

My conversation with Bruce Dancis: