By Hunter Wooden

What’s Up With The Counter Culture? •  Late 60’s Historian

Theodore Roszak deemed the new youth’s culture, so uncultured that it’s actually a COUNTER CULTURE!

•  Sparked by the non conformist’s “Beat movement” of the 50’s, young people followed Psychology Professor, and counter culture philosopher Timothy Leary’s “Tune In, Turn On And Drop Out!” movement.

•  Leading to ten’s of thousands of drop outs, jobless bums moving out of town to create a community of peace and harmony.

Peace And Harmony? •  Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll with a

touch of Buddhism. This marked the Hippie Era. Dressed in ragged clothes, military garments and some native American ornaments. Oh and of course, long hair.

•  Hippies main goal was to live communally. In other words they wanted to share… EVERYTHING.

•  By the mid 60’s Haight- Ashbury of S.F. was deemed hippie capital. But we all new it was because LSD stayed legal there untill 1966.

Do Your Own Thing? •  After a several years of

this type of attitude most of the hippies realized that while been ripped all the time, trying to rely on each other proved difficult.

•  By 1970 many were just drug addicts. Legendary Guitarist Jimi Hendrix and female rock singer Janis Joplin both died of drug over dose.

•  And finally when the hippie movement died, thousands lined up at the hated government offices in hopes of collecting welfare.

Culture Will Never Be The Same •  Other than being

crazy and going against governments… hippies, as well as their drugs put a lasting imprint on the world. A world with more open sex, social drug use, and a music change that rocked the nation.

Pop Art Begins (Finally)

•  Pop art was started by Andy Warhol. Bringing art into the mainstream. Using simple commercial images, Warhol repeated these works of art over and over again to make them seem massed produced and impersonal. His goal was to show how individual freedoms had been lot to a “Cookie Cutter” lifestyle.

Rock & Roll “The loud and biting anthem of protest”

•  After “The British Invasion” from “The Beatles” Americans world of music would be changed for ever.

•  Many new artists came soon after and artists still do the same today. We got bands poppin up everywhere.

•  One of the biggest shows in rock and roll history was Woodstock. In 1969 400,000+ people lined up for a free music festival with countless rock stars. This show was peaceful and well organized. Just the way the

hippies wanted.

New Attitudes!!! •  Here it comes! The sex

revolution, once taboo, is now casual. Throughout 60’s- 70’s mass media culture began to address the sex and violence in life. Many people enjoyed this new attitude and in the long run it lead to an accepting of liberal attitudes about appearance, lifestyle and social behavior. However back then it had an opposite effect.

Conservatives………… •  By the late 60’s many believed that

the country had totally lost sense of “Right” and “Wrong”. People such as Richard M. Nixon (A.K.A. Tricky Dicky) felt they should express this anger.

•  Well, Nixon wasn’t the only one many other people believed that this behavior would lead to revolutionary terrorism, and anarchy.

•  Psychiatrist, Bruno Bettleheim believed that members of the counter culture that grew up with a pampered childhood actually didn’t have the ability to express gratitude.

•  This growing conservative movement would put Nixon in presidency and off set the nation for a while.

We’re Where It’s At

•  In many ways we can still see the liberal lifestyle today. Even though we have an understanding for the most part that drugs aren’t exactly healthy, and having sex all the time isn’t safe. We still have the same liberal attitude, and we won’t not be so judge mental and narrow minded for the most part.

•  For kids now, we have more well educated lifestyles, although many of us try certain things most of us are aware of what the outcomes can

be. •  I believe that we are the final generation that will

change the world and that after a century of racism, war and overall confusion we can finally put that aside and change for the better.