The counterculture consisted mainly of white middle class college students. The most concentrated area of these people was located in Haight-Ashbury, in San Francisco, California – one of the only places whose laws on weed were extremely lax. They were Vietnam War protestors, burning their draft cards and shouting out “flower power!”, for they believed strongly in making love and not war. These peaceful people rejected conventional society, viewing the older generations as materialistic and conservative, causing a large “generation gap.” These hippies, as many called them, experimented in using mind altering drugs, LSD or marijuana most of the time, and enjoyed psychedelic art, which was supposed to represent this mind altering experience.
Often they wore outrageous clothes, tie-dyed shirts, bell bottoms, miniskirts, jeans (which were previously not considered every day wear), and beaded cloth. They were generally unorganized, preferring to share each other’s possessions instead of working at jobs. They were not supporters of monogamous relationships, and were responsible for the general use of the birth control pill. They often lived in small groups, claiming to want a “joyful, carefree, simple, natural life.” The counterculture age revolted against formality, finding the suits stifling, and men grew their hair out long (previously thought as disrespectful by the older generations). They enjoyed expanding the mind, not only with drugs, but also through yoga and meditation, often influenced by different Eastern spiritual traditions and beliefs.
Although these hippies refused to admit they relied on the government they found that they could not live entirely outside the realms of society. They needed to rely on Congress and welfare programs that provided them with food and means to live.
This generation had a bad effect on the rest of society. Seeing as how the counterculture members were anti-war, they protested against the government whenever they got a chance. These protests, not always peaceful, became acceptable, grew into riots and rebellions which became acceptable in society instead of trying to compromise.
Premarital sex became expected of women in relationships, which gave way to more prostitution. Women began to fear they would be abandoned if she did not satisfy the sexual demands of her man. Birth control led men to believe that pregnancy was women’s full responsibility; no longer feeling obligated to marry her and help share the obligations that came with the child. Casual sex lead to spreading of AIDS and failure of marriage or no marriages at all, which negatively affected the psyche of children as they grew up with only one parent.
Taking drugs also became a more accepted social norm, causing more citizens to partake in illegal consumptions, which lessened their fear (as they weren’t always caught by police) to break other laws. Society now also viewed opposition to war as acceptable, giving other countries reason to believe the American front was not united, and only had to bide its time until the government was forced to listen to the demonstrators.
of what the counterculture was
"when you hold a pen, you are at war" Attributed to Voltaire