Ramparts

The Bay Area needs to believe again. It needs to believe there is something that has their back.

Ramparts Magazine was the quintessential poor man’s magazine. When I say poor man, I’m ultimately referring to the underdog’s magazine – the left man’s magazine.

The publication was started in 1962 and rapped its cover just 13 years later. It saw the civil and social uprisings of the 1960’s along with the blood soaked war in Vietnam.

The direction of the magazine was simple: Write the facts, the facts that people should care about and know about, the facts that were true, and the facts that would make every American citizen want to question their country and their social surroundings.

Many of Ramparts’ editors and founders went on to create some of the most read publications in the United States, from Rolling Stone to Mother Jones.

These people, from Robert Sheer to Brit Hume, have become some of the biggest political mind-shapers of our time.

Where are the Ramparts’ of today? Is it the San Francisco Bay Guardian? Is it 7 X 7? Could it even be San Francisco Magazine? The answer is no.

You could go on journey of speculation as to why the Bay Area doesn’t have a modern-day equivalent, but the answer might be more simple than most would think – people aren’t as pissed off as they used to be.

What made Ramparts successful, were the times. Ultimately, in 1975, the magazine shut down – after most of the civil and social rights fights were declining due to winning the battle.

However, the Bay Area could use a magazine like Ramparts no matter what time it is. We need a Ramparts to publish letters by Al Qaeda, we need a Ramparts to be concerned about the health care bill, and we need a Ramparts to let us know it’s okay to question the things are skeptical about.