Narrative+(HM)

What were the beliefs of the Hippie Movement and how did it contribute to the American culture?

When looking back at the Hippie Movement, most just see the actions of carefree liberal people. They assume that hippies just promoted ideas of peace and love, but didn't know what do with it. Events like the Summer of Love in 1967 and the Woodstock Music Art Festival, bring reactions of "music, drugs, LSD, Bob Dylan, Vietnam, ". All of these words/thoughts have a hidden meaning behind them. Since the hippies had different views then the majority of the people, they expressed them differently. Many of their actions and choices effected and changed America in an epochal way, eventually opening the eyes of many in the conservative middle class.

The hippies' beliefs were numerous, including a range from drugs to music to politics. Their goals and ideas were based on peace, love, freedom and community. They were strongly against the Vietnam War, disliked establishments (such as the government), and criticized middle-class values (same as their parent generation). They were more tolerant of being different and accepted those individuals who stuck out in society and were different from the rest. Soon people began to relate or agree to some views, expanding the movement.

"You must believe in peace as the way to resolve differences among peoples. The way to peace is through love and tolerance. Loving means accepting others as they are, giving them freedom to express themselves and not judging them based on appearances. This is the core of the hippie philosophy." - Skip Stone. Their philosophy related to their ideas and goals, so did their views on drugs and politics. The philosophy of the Hippies were opposite of their parent generation, who had been and were materialistic. The hippies thought that materialism was the cause of all the bad that had happened so far, such as the war.

The Hippies viewed drugs as gateways to see through the "fake values of middle class materialism and into the profound layers of one's innermost being" - Sam Binkley. They also saw it as a "key to escaping the ties of society and expanding their individual consciousness.//"// Which led directly, or indirectly, of thinking that the older generation were //out// to get them. They believed the parent generation created the "Establishment" to prevent them from living the way they did -- in a carefree manner. Even though the hippies lived in this way, they were somehow taken care of. There were groups that helped the hippies live in this lifestyle, called the Diggers. The Diggers, made shops to give out and provide free clothes, free food, free medical care, and temporary shelter.

The ways of the Hippies contributed to the American culture in many ways. A new style of music came from the movement, folk music and rock and roll. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, and Jefferson Airplanes were few of the many people who produced these types of music. Also there was more openness and acceptance among the rest of the country. Different and new ideas were more accepted despite not understanding it. A considerable big step was made and started to fill in the gap of the generations. An example of society accepting different ideas in the U.S was homosexuality. Before the movement, homosexuality was a hush hush deal, not readily accepted or understood. After the movement there was more leniency and acceptance of homosexuality. The hippie movement contributed a bad habit also. Drugs were now used even more and many were becoming addicted to the drugs the hippies promoted.The government began to pay thousands for aid of the addicts and made rehab centers trying to help stop the addition. When the Hippie Movement began to end, many of the hippies were left homeless and alone.

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