Politics Of 1960s
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Politics Of 1960s
As the nineteen fifties turned into the early sixties, the United States
remained the same patriotic, harmonious society of the previous decade; often a
teen's most difficult decision was choosing what color lipstick to wear to the
prom. Yet after 1963, a dramatic change slowly developed in the cultural,
social, and political beliefs of America, particularly the youth. The death of
President Kennedy, the new music, the quest for civil rights, the popularity of
mind-altering drugs, the senselessness of the Vietnam War, and the invention of
the birth control pill reacted like an imbalanced chemical equation to formulate
a new American counterculture: the hippie. Contrasting with ever-dominant
mainstream society, the "layed back" hippie nobly tried to change the
world not by force, but through peace and love. Though not entirely successful,
the hippie movement clearly marked the mid- to late-nineteen sixties and early
seventies as a mixture of peace and brotherly love with "sex, drugs, and
rock and roll." The formal definition of a hippie is "one who does not
conform to social standards, advocating a liberal attitude and lifestyle."
However, the true definition of a "hippie" in unclear; no
interpretation could categorize every person who fits into the ambiguous
category of a hippie. According to Phoebe Thompson's definition, 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 (12-13). In the view of some historians, thus, Thoreau and
Ghandi were hippies, and hippies continue to exist today (25). Yet what unique
qualities characterized the American hippies of the nineteen sixties, and how
did this movement gain enough power to influence millions of teenagers? The
nineteen fifties was one of America's most prosperous (and dull) decades.
Conformity and nationalism swept the nation; television sitcoms reinforced
old-fashioned family values; the typical teenager aspired for the
"all-American" look and personality. Yet music had already planted the
seeds of rebellion; Rock and Roll began to sweep the nation. Kids wore leather
jackets, violated curfews, and considered themselves rebels, though oddly with
no cau...
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