Essay On Counterculture

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Baby Boomers to Flower Children, during the sixties America saw the uprising of counterculture. This expansion, or change in consciousness, took place throughout American society. The bulk of counterculture consisted of middle class white youth who experience a life a leisure because of their parents hard work. They denounced materialism, competition, hard work, and conformity. This directly opposed common American values thus putting the counter in counterculture.
From conflict, truths, and misperceived beliefs came the ideals and values that counterculture was built upon. The American government and its hope to stop the spread of communism throughout Asia, led to concentrated military efforts in Vietnam. But shortly after attacks on the naval ship USS Maddox, President Johnson declared use of conventional military in Vietnam. On the other hand, within America the passing of the Civil Rights Act sparked up ideas of equality, peace, and change. As a result of the resentment towards President Johnson’s decision to go to war and the civil rights movement, the youth and political activist targeted american institutions and initiated a movement toward equality, reform, and community throughout the American people.
Imagination Nation highlights the culture of the 1960’s. Instead of portraying the 60’s as a time of debauchery like much literature, Imagination Nation shows the reality of the time. The sixties were a time of “Conscience objection to the ways of the previous generations”(69). The 14 essays published were to support and explain the reasons behind the movement. Many of these essays directly correlate and support that counter culture was deeper than the drugs, music, and tie-dye.
Three of the essays published in the Imag...

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...th and political activist rebelled and rejected society. They strived for equality, moved for reform, and longed for community within America. These values and ideals are what served as a base for the counter culture movement of the 1960s. Illustrated in the protest, demonstration and riots was the coming together of a mass of people all conveying their combined opinion. This community and activism is solely what counter culture meant to be.
As a result of the Vietnam war and the civil rights movements America needed to change, and it relied on the youth. With inspiration and community they led the counter culture movement toward freedom, love, peace, and equality amongst the American people. Though many still view the youth of the counter culture of the 1960s as a generation of dreamers, contrastingly in reality they prove themselves to be a generation of doers.

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