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Hippie time in america
Effects of the hippie era
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These young people were growing their hair long, participating in free love, and flexing their flower power. The hippie generation was not all about rebelling againsed their parents or doing drugs and having sex, Hippies are people who believe that the way to peace is love. They believe that in order to love one another it is important that they accept one another for who they are but the people in their time others did not see this. They just saw kids that were breaking the law. They did many wild things that people other than the hippies frowned upon like, doing many different drugs and experimenting with sex, listening to loud music and holding war protests.
One of the Hippie’s foundations was the of the continuous use of illegal drugs and making love to each other. Over 10 years from 1960 when the Hippie’s first started to 1970 more than 8,000,000 people from the ages of 15 to 25 had tried marijuana. This was the main drug of the hippie generation, but was not the only drug used by them. One other main drug used was LSD, some of the Hippie’s thought that LSD “put you in touch ...
The 1960’s was a radical decade filled with political tensions, social strife, and overall cultural intrigue. The beginning of the decade allowed for the transition from President Eisenhower to President Kennedy, the youngest President to take office, and the first Roman Catholic. The move represented a shift from a Republican to Democratic administration in the Oval Office. Kennedy became a symbol for the young vibrancy of the American populous, as he was quickly accepted by the grand majority. After Kennedy was assassinated and Lyndon B. Johnson took office, the nation was further engulfed in the war that would come to define America for years to come. The Republican Party regained office as Richard Nixon was elected in his second attempt to run as the decade came to a close. Activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X paved the way for the civil rights movement that swept the nation and captivated the spirit of not only black Americans, but white Americans as well. The race between the United States of America and The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics for domination of space escalated as Kennedy pushed for a man on the moon by the close of the decade, achieved in 1969. The possibility of nuclear war became all too real in 1962 as the launch of nuclear missiles became an abundantly clear possibility. The drug culture emerged in the 1960’s in large part due to the newfound accessibility of illegal drugs, such as marijuana and Lysergic Acid Diethylamide, or LSD. American society was entrenched in the chaotic desire for new, improved highs. The profound ascent of the drug culture was truly realized when the 3-day music festival, Woodstock, took place in 1969, as “sex, drugs and rock n’ roll” symbolized America’s...
Psychedelic drugs were an icon of the 1960s, its role embedded within the rising counterculture in response to the economic, social, and political turmoil throughout the United States. As a means to impose a central power and control social order, federal authorities were quick to ban the recreational and medical use of psychedelic drugs without consideration of its potential benefits. The recent state laws on the legalization of marijuana in Oregon and Colorado with others soon to follow, is a sure sign of an eventual collective shift in the perceptions of psychedelic drugs. Not only does Daniel Pinchbeck document his reflections on the personal consumption of psychedelic drugs in his unconventional novel Breaking Open the Head, he also advances several assertions on modern Western society in his exploration of polarized attitudes on this controversial topic.
Despite the negative portrayal in mainstream 1960s media, justifications expressed by counterculture activists for further investigation, education and experimentation under government control of LSD were rational and valid arguments. Sex, drugs, protests, war, political upheaval, cultural chaos, and social rebellion; the many comforts TV dinner eating, republican voting, church going, suburbia conformists tried to escape through conservative ideals, town meetings, and The Andy Williams Family Hour. National consciousness in 1960s United States was alive, but existed differently in every mind it dwelled, and stirred uninterrupted in every life to which it was introduced. A dream of money, success, and a house with a white picket fence still existed within the pandemonium of the nation and many still relished in the idea of “Americanism.” Television was a base for a magnitude of world news and national information. Television situation comedies created ideal families and contenting distractions from unsettling national realities. Mainstream media, both fact and fiction, influenced the nation’s minds resulting in the effect of political change and further media influence over the government. The new decade, along with the effects of the Vietnam War and the strong influence of television, began to leak from the cracks of the nation a new counterculture of rebellious teenagers, unfamiliar narcotics, and a wave of promiscuity. Among the many issues and events molding our nation into a new decade, came the question of government and mind control. For some it was the next step into human evolution, a potential tool for mind control, a liberator of human kind, but for most LSD helped define 1960s counterculture, in which it was deeply rooted.
The documentary “Sixties: Years that Shaped a Generation” illustrates a period in United States history defined by cultural movement. Several citizen led campaigns were developed to challenge long established American institutions and traditions. This age of defiance, cultivated a counter culture which stood against social injustice, racial inequalities, and the war in Vietnam.
Art influenced by drugs faces a unique challenge from the mainstream: prove its legitimacy despite its "tainted" origins. The established judges of culture tend to look down upon drug-related art and artists, as though it is the drug and not the artist that is doing the creating. This conflict, less intense but still with us today, has its foundations in the 1960s. As the Beatnik, Hippie, and psychedelic movements grew increasing amounts of national attention, the influence of drugs on culture could no longer be ignored by the mainstream. In an age where once-prolific drugs like marijuana and cocaine had become prohibited and sensationalized, the renewed influence of drugs both old and new sent shockwaves through the culture base. The instinctual response of the non-drug-using majority was to simply write drug-influenced art off as little more than the ramblings of madmen. Some drug-influenced artists tried to ignore this preconception, and others tried to downplay their drug use in the face of negative public scrutiny. For some drug-influenced artists, however, it was imperative to gain popular acceptance by publicly challenging the perception and preconceptions of mainstream America.
The 1970s was a tumultuous time in the United States. In some ways, the decade was a continuation of the 1960s. Women, African Americans, Native Americans, gays and lesbians and other marginalized people continued to fight for their freedom, while many other Americans joined in the demonstration against the ongoing war in Vietnam. Due to these movements, the 1970s saw changes in its national identity, including modifications in social values. These social changes showed up in the fashion industry as well, delivering new outlooks in the arenas of both men’s and women’s clothing.
Wesson, Donald R. "Psychedelic Drugs, Hippie Counterculture, Speed And Phenobarbital Treatment Of Sedative-Hypnotic Dependence: A Journey To The Haight Ashbury In The Sixties." Journal Of Psychoactive Drugs 2 (2011): 153. Academic OneFile. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
There were leaders such as Timothy Leary, Harvard Professor, who was helped spread the hippies drug use. He recommended the use of LSD and used his famous slogan, “tune in, ten on, and drop out”, to inspire the American youth. Later during his career, he was fired for being unreliable to showing up to his classes. Leary had a belief that LSD showed improvements for therapy, that the human mind would expand and there would be personal truth. During the hippie movement he was constantly arrested and was known as “-in the words of president Richard Nixon - “the most dangerous man in America”” (Bliss Jim, “The death of Timothy Leary, ‘The most dangerous man in America’”). Later in 1995, Leary was diagnosed with inoperable prostate cancer. And then in 1996, he died lying in bed with his
Hippies refused to conform to the ideals of society that were in place at the time, this challenged and influenced the society in which they were apart of. Hippies expressed themselves in profound ways in everything they did, and one way they did this was by the way they presented themselves. The image
More than any other countercultural group, hippies reflected a deep discontent with technocracy- society’s reliance on scientific experts who ruled coldly and dispassionately and who wielded enormous power. Hippies said good-bye to that and hello to the mystical spirit, oneness with the universe- life as passion, passion as life, harmony, and understanding. The...
The general mindset of the 1960’s San Francisco scene is well summarized by Reebee Garafalo in his book Rockin’ Out: Popular Music in the USA when he states: “For the counterculture, the focus on mind-expanding drugs seemed to offer the possibility of greater self-awareness and consciousness, which would in turn lead to a world without war, competition, or regimentation.” The concept of expanding the mind in order to achieve a peaceful, utopian world naturally lends itself to the consumption of drugs. The image of half naked, marijuana smoking hippies dancing around in the park comes to mind when one thinks of the late 60’s Haight-Ashbury scene. Drugs help tremendously in creating an altered state, making one oblivious to the outside world. A great deal of the music was preaching peace, love,...
Unlike the society before this movement, the hippie did not try to change America through violence, the hippie tried to change things through peace and love. The Hippie Movement was a moment during the mid 1960s through the early 1070s where sex, drugs and Rock-n-Roll, was at the forefront of mainstream society. No one really knows the true definition of a Hippie, but a formal definition describes the hippie as one who does not conform to social standards, advocating a liberal attitude and lifestyle. Phoebe Thompson wrote, “Being a hippie is a choice of philosophy. Hippies are generally antithetical to structured hierarchies, such as church, government, and social castes. The ultimate goal of the hippie movement is peace, attainable only through love and toleration of the earth and each other. Finally, a hippie needs freedom, both physical freedom to experience life and mental freeness to remain open-minded” (Thompson12-13). Many questions are asked when trying to figure out how this movement reached so many of America’s youth, and what qualities defined a hippie as a hippie?
The government and the older generations could not understand their way of life. Hippies were often portrayed as criminals, subversive to the morals and best interest of the public. Although misunderstood, the hippie had a great impact throughout the country, still surviving today in American culture. The term “hippie” itself became a universal term in the late sixties. It originated in a 1967 article in Ramparts, entitled “The Social History of the Hippies.” Afterward, the name was captured by the mass media as a label for the people of the new movement. (Yablonsky 28) Even before this, the word “hip” described someone who was “in” and “down”, wise to what was going on around him. By the 1960s, some of America’s youth created a gap between themselves and their parents. They grew their hair long because it was natural and therefore considered beautiful.
When people hear the term hippie, they think of men and woman in loose clothing with flowers weaved in their hair. Although these men and women did in fact wear these things, they left a significant impact on society. Hippies were a part of the Counterculture movement, which basic ideals were to reject the ideas of mainstream society. The movement itself began with the protesting of the Vietnam War. Eventually, the movement was more than just protesting the war. Hippies promoted the use of recreational drugs, religious tolerance; they also changed society’s views and attitudes about lifestyle and social behavior. The Counterculture movement was the most influential era in the 20th century because the people of this time changed society’s outlook, and broached the topics of drugs, fashion, and sexual freedom.
The sixties was a decade of liberation and revolution, a time of great change and exciting exploration for the generations to come. It was a time of anti-war protests, free love, sit-ins, naked hippie chicks and mind-altering drugs. In big cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Paris, there was a passionate exchange of ideas, fiery protests against the Vietnam War, and a time for love, peace and equality. The coming together of like-minded people from around the world was spontaneous and unstoppable. This group of people, which included writers, musicians, thinkers and tokers, came to be known as the popular counterculture, better known as hippies. The dawning of the Age of Aquarius in the late sixties was more than just a musical orgy. It was a time of spiritual missions to fight for change and everything they believed in. Freedom, love, justice, equality and peace were at the very forefront of this movement (West, 2008). Some wore beads. Some had long hair. Some wore tie-dye and others wore turtle-neck sweaters. The Hippie generation was a wild bunch, to say the least, that opened the cookie jar of possibilities politically, sexually, spiritually and socially to forever be known as one of the most memorable social movements of all time (Hippie Generation, 2003).