What Are The Values And Beliefs Of The Hippies?
VALUES AND LIFESTYLE OF THE “HIPPIES”
Origins and Beliefs of the Hippies. The 1960s counterculture movement was comprised of the baby boomers who had grown into their teenage and young adult years in the 1960s, so they were often found in large numbers. The people involved were youths of America who were typically Caucasian, white, and middle-class, with ages ranging from fifteen to twenty-five. However, the conformity and peaceful times of the 1950s were not enough for their children, who were ambitious and wanted change. They largely rejected the social norms of the time that their parents had embraced, which included authority, religion, marital fidelity, abstinence, patriotism, and the establishment, and believed that America had become …show more content…
American society had been extremely high-strung from the tensions that had developed between the older generation and the younger generation. Anti-war protests went from 3,000 a month in February of 1965 to 33,000 by October. About 500,000 men evaded drafting into the army because they believed the war was an unnecessary act of violence. What resulted from all of these things put together - the reaction to the 1950’s conservative and traditionalist values, and the civil rights movements - was a generation that rejected the social norms of the 60’s that they felt were ruining the sanctity of the United States. The youth set out to create an entirely new culture (a “Woodstock Nation”) that propagated against the establishment (the technocratic society) to redefine freedom and actively resist the “mechanized maze” or repression. They advocated for movements such as the women’s liberation and the sexual revolution, and believed in peace, harmony, and freedom for all people. “Make love, not war; don’t trust anyone over thirty; turn on, tune in, drop out; I am a human being -- please do not fold, bend spindle, or mutilate”; all of these catchphrases became slogans of the 1960’s that represented what the hippies stood for. To the rest of society in the United States, their values were polar …show more content…
Using these drugs did in fact have a powerful bonding mechanism. It was a consistent effect of LSD; those who tripped together were able to form a powerful connection with each other. It was used as a means of understanding and coping with the evils of America’s Establishment society, and thus, enhanced the dissatisfaction with the prevailing culture. The individual had a choice between either removing themselves of society altogether, or remaining within in it, but with an awareness of the meaningless culture that involved a certain amount of detachment from it. Some of the more creative insights did spring from the usage of dope, which lead to it being widely regarded as a critical part of the hippie lifestyle, as it was from this that a new line of thinking was born. It was even said that after having a couple doses of dope, it was hard to revert back to one’s former
Origins and Beliefs of the Hippies. The 1960s counterculture movement was comprised of the baby boomers who had grown into their teenage and young adult years in the 1960s, so they were often found in large numbers. The people involved were youths of America who were typically Caucasian, white, and middle-class, with ages ranging from fifteen to twenty-five. However, the conformity and peaceful times of the 1950s were not enough for their children, who were ambitious and wanted change. They largely rejected the social norms of the time that their parents had embraced, which included authority, religion, marital fidelity, abstinence, patriotism, and the establishment, and believed that America had become …show more content…
American society had been extremely high-strung from the tensions that had developed between the older generation and the younger generation. Anti-war protests went from 3,000 a month in February of 1965 to 33,000 by October. About 500,000 men evaded drafting into the army because they believed the war was an unnecessary act of violence. What resulted from all of these things put together - the reaction to the 1950’s conservative and traditionalist values, and the civil rights movements - was a generation that rejected the social norms of the 60’s that they felt were ruining the sanctity of the United States. The youth set out to create an entirely new culture (a “Woodstock Nation”) that propagated against the establishment (the technocratic society) to redefine freedom and actively resist the “mechanized maze” or repression. They advocated for movements such as the women’s liberation and the sexual revolution, and believed in peace, harmony, and freedom for all people. “Make love, not war; don’t trust anyone over thirty; turn on, tune in, drop out; I am a human being -- please do not fold, bend spindle, or mutilate”; all of these catchphrases became slogans of the 1960’s that represented what the hippies stood for. To the rest of society in the United States, their values were polar …show more content…
Using these drugs did in fact have a powerful bonding mechanism. It was a consistent effect of LSD; those who tripped together were able to form a powerful connection with each other. It was used as a means of understanding and coping with the evils of America’s Establishment society, and thus, enhanced the dissatisfaction with the prevailing culture. The individual had a choice between either removing themselves of society altogether, or remaining within in it, but with an awareness of the meaningless culture that involved a certain amount of detachment from it. Some of the more creative insights did spring from the usage of dope, which lead to it being widely regarded as a critical part of the hippie lifestyle, as it was from this that a new line of thinking was born. It was even said that after having a couple doses of dope, it was hard to revert back to one’s former