Relfection of the American Environmental Movement Counterculture

Hippies represent the ideological, naive nature that children possess. They feel that with a little love and conectedness, peace and equality will abound. It is with this assumption that so many activists and reformers, inspired by the transformation that hippies cultivated, have found the will to persist in revolutionizing social and political policy. Their alternative lifestyles and radical beleifs were the shocking blow that American culture-- segregation, McCarthyism, unjust wars, censorship--needed to prove that some Americans still had the common sense to care for one another. The young people of the sixties counterculture movement were successful at awakening awareness on many causes that are being fought in modern

This counter culture that developed in the 1960s was an alternative lifestyle chosen by individuals who would eventually become known as hippies, freaks or long hairs (Richards, 2003). Members of the counter culture held a conviction similar to that of the new left wing movement, in that they wanted to overhaul domestic policy within the United States (MacFarlane, 2007). Hippies were generally dissatisfied with the consensus culture that had developed after the Second World War and wanted to distance themselves from American society hence the counter culture (Debolt, 2011).As a result,

The hippie movements of the sixties were driven by a plethora of factors. There were many new technologies that were being introduced in this period, a war against Communism around the globe, internal struggles against several types of injustices, a growing drug culture, and several other important developments. To say the least, it was a volatile period in American history and many sub-cultures were actively seeking to carve out new paths that were starkly different than the traditional norms. These generations who rejected traditional culture helped carve out a new trajectory for the United States and the movements influences can still be felt to this day.

One of America’s greatest conservation achievements is the Wilderness Act of 1964. Fifty-two years later, this act has a legacy to withhold. A legacy that meant something in 1964 and remains the same today: to protect unspoiled land. Even though, through this act millions of acres have been conserved, the key word is continue. That is why America should pass laws to preserve the wilderness before developers spoil them.

Around the same time within the late 1960’s, a new hippie movement was forming, which was often described as a counterculture.

The whole hippie culture all together was totally against social norms, what society wanted to see, how everyone else lived, and what they believed in. The hippie culture’s main moto was “make love, not war”. They were strongly against war and the Vietnam War, which was going on during the same time the hippie culture was popular. They thought that everyone should have acceptance of the universe. They wanted to see change in the world, global

The “mainstream” culture of America, at one point or another in history, created an idealized vision of the US. This consisted of the nuclear family, a general homogeneity of race and belief, and a set of guidelines by which American lived. Those who rejected the mainstream, who engaged in the counterculture, were called “hippies” at best, “Commies” at worst. When Manjoo references the

The 1960s Hippie movement was a major point in the American history. In the 1960s a certain class of young people associated their lifestyles with the ideas of freedom, peace, and love. Hippies acted against white upper middle class lifestyle because they thought it was based on the wrong ideology. Hippies were against consumerism and American suburban life of the late 1950s and early 1960s was embodied in itself the idea of consumerism. Hippies, on the other hand, felt better about communal life with equal distribution of social goods. Traditional “bigger share” and consumerist greed as concepts of American society were despised by Hippies.

The counterculture movement started in the 1960s causing California to start another trend. The countercultural movement rejected the “Establishment’s” business-world values, and urged a mix of non-materialism, Asian religions, “free love,” and experimentation

The following research project will discuss how exactly the hippie counterculture movement believed the dominant mainstream culture was corrupt, inherently flawed and how Hippies therefore challenged these values by striving for their own utopia.

The Hippie Counter Culture began in 1960. The hippie era was influenced more by personal happiness in which books, music, and fashion followed as result of their personification of a blissful society. Hippies did not care what others thought of them and their motto was “if it feels good, do it”. Hippies were seeking a utopian society. They participated in street theater and listened to psychedelic rock. As part of their culture they embraced more open sexual encounters amongst each other in their community and believed in use of psychedelic drugs which consisted of marijuana and LSD. The fashion choice that hippies dressed in was due to set them apart from the mainstream society. They choose to buy their clothing from thrift shops and flea markets (Haddock, 2011). Clothing choices are described as “brightly colored, ragged clothes, tie-dyed t-shirts, beads, sandals (or barefoot), and jewelry” (Haddock, 2011, para 7). Hippies also referred

The Hippie Movement changed the politics and the culture in America in the 1960s. When the nineteen fifties turned into the nineteen sixties, not much had changed, people were still extremely patriotic, the society of America seemed to work together, and the youth of America did not have much to worry about, except for how fast their car went or what kind of outfit they should wear to the Prom. After 1963, things started to slowly change in how America viewed its politics, culture, and social beliefs, and the group that was in charge of this change seemed to be the youth of America. The Civil Rights Movement, President Kennedy’s death, new music, the birth control pill, the growing illegal drug market, and

The “hippies” of the 1960s had many effects on the American society. The visual appearance and lifestyle of the hippies were in sharp contrast to the conservative nature of the older generation, which defined them as a counterculture. The hippie lifestyle was based on free love, rock music, shared property, and drug experimentation. They introduced a new perspective on drugs, freedom of expression, appearance, music, attitudes toward work, and held a much more liberal political view than mainstream society.

For the first time in American history, a large population of people of all ages, classes, and races came together to challenge the traditional institutions, traditional values in society, and "the establishment" in general. Youth, women, ethnic minorities, environmentalists, migrant workers and others caused the emergence of the counter culture. This cultural movement from 1960 to 1973 was caused by many factors. This era was one that was filled with many important events that shaped the way that Americans viewed life. Those who were unhappy with what was going on around them and took part in this social phenomenon reflected and demonstrated their attitudes, values, and ideals in many ways. Various things from

Americans began to worry about their connection with nature when cities gained popularity and frontier closed. In the late 1800’s, Americans began to take notice the land they relied on for resources was beginning to show signs of overuse (Roosevelt, Theodore). The two most prominent activists for the conservation and preservation of American soil were Gifford Pinchot and John Muir. These two men both fought for regulation on how the land was used, but disputed over what this use looked like. Pinchot believed in conservation which meant using the natural resources to serve the needs of Americans for the longest time (Warren, 201). On the other side of the movement, Muir believed that man should leave nature untouched and left in its purist form.(Muir 40) Conservation and preservation impacted not only the land but, also on the people who lived on the land. The conservation and preservation movement benefited whites of upper and middle class who were able to earn a profit, explore, and utilize the nature that was being conserved/preserved. Consequently, the conservation and preservation movements created greater hardship for those who relied on nature's resources to survive, including, but not limited to the working class of Ely, Minnesota and the Indians in Yosemite National Park.