As our government began to escalate the war in Vietnam, drug use became more prevalent as a response to the violence abroad. Is the Vietnam War primarily responsible for the rise of the counterculture during the mid 1960's-70's?
Vietnam protests were a cornerstone of the 60s counterculture movement, but I'm not sure we can pin the rise of the entire movement on the war. The movement escalated as a result of a number of different factors. For instance, the spread of LSD led to its growth in the Haight-Ashbury scene, as psychedelic users automatically congregated together and embraced a society without rules as a result of acid’s reality-altering effects. Counterculture developed further as psychadelic rock (the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane), as well as psychedelic art and literature (Allen Ginsberg, Tom Wolfe, Andy Warhol etc.) emerged. Young Americans also began to rethink the boundaries of sexual expression, partaking more and more in “free love.” All of these different factors along with the war escalation culminated in the resistance to established American authority and the movement we have come to call “counterculture.”
The movement was a vast assortment different ideas, people and lifestyle choices falling under the umbrella of “counterculture.” Not everyone in the counterculture movement was even against the war in Vietnam. Thus the escalation of the movement, like the movement itself, did not have one specific cause.
Vietnam protests were a cornerstone of the 60s counterculture movement, but I'm not sure we can pin the rise of the entire movement on the war. The movement escalated as a result of a number of different factors. For instance, the spread of LSD led to its growth in the Haight-Ashbury scene, as psychedelic users automatically congregated together and embraced a society without rules as a result of acid’s reality-altering effects. Counterculture developed further as psychadelic rock (the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane), as well as psychedelic art and literature (Allen Ginsberg, Tom Wolfe, Andy Warhol etc.) emerged. Young Americans also began to rethink the boundaries of sexual expression, partaking more and more in “free love.” All of these different factors along with the war escalation culminated in the resistance to established American authority and the movement we have come to call “counterculture.”
ReplyDeleteThe movement was a vast assortment different ideas, people and lifestyle choices falling under the umbrella of “counterculture.” Not everyone in the counterculture movement was even against the war in Vietnam. Thus the escalation of the movement, like the movement itself, did not have one specific cause.