Today's protests are not analogous to the 60s.

I remember knowing people in grad school who were all about trying to do this protest or the other. Me. I was just trying to get through my school and had no time for that sort of nonsense no matter what the cause could have been. I remember thinking of one guy in particular who I was convinced was sorry he missed the 60s. There were probably more.

When you think about it, while the protestors in the 60s were not right all the time, they were right a good deal of the time. The war was wrong. There were civil rights that were being violated. For certain individuals, the 60s offered a time of moral clarity, where "the man" wore the black hats and the protestors wore the white hats.

This is not a similar time and the moral issues being fought over are far more murky. The protestors represent an elite class more than a depressed underclass today. But I think many of them romanticize the 60s and hope to recreate it. That is one of many motivators of the protests today.

One final point. In the 60s a lot of traditional religions came under scrutiny and a "God is dead" philosophy became more prevalent. Today we have seen a rise of the "Nones." I also think in part the longing for the 60s is a search for purpose in a world where the transcendent has been rejected. So that I am not misunderstood, I am not saying that is the only source of why people are protesting but that is part of it.