What do you think we learned from the late 60's, if anything? Your answer cann't be 'nothin', or 'GO LSD!'

Question

I just saw a movie/documentary called The Drug Years... It was the second of four movies with this title, showing the late 60's and the impact drugs had on them. Let me say, for the majority of the time, I had this feeling of hope circulating through my chest, because I believe the hippies and the musicians had the right idea. I'm not saying lets all go out and get stoned on LSD, but they were using it to uplift their minds, think outside the box, and LOVE LOVE LOVE all, aside from prejudice, hate, and war... up until Manson used LSD to hack into the ugliness inside of him and went on his sordid killing spree, and Janis, Jim and Hendrix all died at 26, and the pigs shot everyone; that's when the hope seemed to die inside of me... I think it's sad that it took drugs to show this side of ppl in such monolithic proportions, and even more dissapointing that the myopic government came out on-top. I think everyone should have a picture of a flower in the barrel of a gun though!!!

In consideration, if we had learned anything, we wouldn't be in IRAQ right now.... and people wouldn't vote simply for the party that says NO to bringing back the draft.... and people wouldn't put flag stickers on their cars, because the flag isn't for vanity, or sentiment, it's for HISTORY.... f u c k what we DIDN'T learn from the '60s, we should have learned MORE.

Answer 1

I think we learned a lot. I watched the program, too, and lived through the hippie scene, so I had a lot of feelings and thoughts.

I think, in the end, what we learned is that we don't have to be cookie-cutter copies of the "norm." My parents (WWII era folks) honestly did not know that.

But we also learned that you can't really reject the society around you, because, face it, baby, you IS the society.

And we learned that, while perhaps LSD and pot weren't as bad as our parents thought they were, the cows don't get milked when everybody is too stoned to milk 'em.

Oh, yeah, we learned to question authority. That's a real good lesson, and one we need to hold on to.

"Free love," well, that seemed kinda neat at the time, but it loses its patina when you keep waking up in strange places with strangers. And then there's HIV, of course, and that sure ain't groovy.

Hippies were young people, as a rule. And young people are idealistic, as another rule. That's how it should be. But getting older teaches you that throwing out ALL of the old ideas isn't necessarily the best course of action.

We learned that not all drugs are good, not all people trustworthy, not all ideals worth dying for, and not all revolutions bad. (Or good!)

All in all, it was an amazing time. Since I couldn't have gotten here without coming from there, I don't know what I'd have been like in a different time, but I think I'm glad I was there.

Answer 2

The basic premise of the 60s was about telling the "establishment" to go "f" themselves. True, some hippies may have believed the "make love, not war" theme, but mostly they just wanted to opt out of being responsible and following the rules. The drug culture of the 60s was a very big part of this. I grew up during the 60s. Don't be so naive. They were using LSD to get stoned out of their minds. The "it makes me see things more clearly, etc." is just an excuse to do drugs. It's too simplistic to say "flower power" and "power to the people." You must realize that there are things in this world worth fighting and dying for. My first husband served in the Air Force during the Viet Nam war and was stationed in Thailand. My second husband served during the Korean war and was stationed in Japan. I don't like war, prejudice or hate. I try to live each day as Jesus Christ wants me to, to let His Light shine through me to each and every person I come into contact with. If we sit here waving flowers at the terrorists and saying "We love you," do you think they're going to say that they won't try to kill every last American and Jew and any other infidels? In the Bible it says there is a time for war and a time for peace. Now is the time for war. I wish it wasn't. But it is. And I pray for our troops stationed around the globe.

Answer 3

A lot of really bad things resulted from the 60s and the hippy generation. Just ask their kids about it if you have doubts. I married one of them. I also consider myself a sort of left over psedohippy. I was born late in 63 but joined LRY and went to hippy high school.

The good things that resulted mostly had to do with breaking the REALLY restricted limited thinking of the 50s. That money and appliances were the best things people could have and all that.

Answer 4

I was a flower child at 16 in 1969. I learned that love is all there is. Everything else is disposable. We are here to love and help one another. We're all different but we're all in the same boat. We're all on our way home....)(

Answer 5

I know I don't want to end up like my brother did.

Answer 6

i watched the same show it was awesome

Answer 7

go hippies!