Hippie Movement

Hippies

When one mentions the word “hippie” most think about the 1960s. They think about the flowing skirts and long unkempt hair. They cannot forget the LSD and marijuana usage either. The peace loving hippies were more than just happy stoners. They were young people who were redefining their thoughts on the issues of war. This generation of liberals brought about one of the most history defining social movements. The anti-war peace movement was one of the largest movements of its time. These hippies had strong feelings about the Vietnam War and its effects on the country. The people involved in this movement had various ways of showing their displeasure of the ongoing war in Vietnam. Protests, love-ins, music, and anti-war marches are just a few of the ways these hippies displayed their views.

According to 123helpme.com, Doctor Timothy Leary was one of the first prominent leaders in this hippie philosophy. He had a philosophy of life that people enjoyed very much to hear and learn about. He promoted gender equality, living life freely, and living like a God. He was famous for saying “Turn on, tune in, and drop out.” The hippie movement became defined and substantial in 1965, and fizzled out by the early 1970s.

Arkit.com explains the views of these hippies. They were usually white Americans from the ages of fifteen to twenty five. They all had very liberal views. They criticized established institutions, rebelled against the middle class rules and most importantly, strongly opposed the Vietnam War. The ones who opposed the war used musical lyrics, psychedelic rock, and art to visualize their views.

A lot of folks believe that the hippies were just against everything and did not really stand for anything. They opposed so many things; it would be difficult to elaborate on them all. The peace movement that they partook in against the war seems to be the most important opposition. There were many protests that took place during the late 1960s that caused an uproar that would eventually help turn the war to peace in Vietnam.

The first protests happened on May 2nd, 1964. Students in different campuses did various things to show their disapproval of the ongoing war. According to an article found at hippy.com, one thousand students marched across Times Square in protest of America’s involvement in the Vietnamese government. In San Francisco, more than seven hundred students protested similarly along with many other smaller demonstrations in Boston, Madison, Wisconsin, and Seattle. This was considered a small step in the anti-war movement, there were still millions of people who were uninformed about the war and the reasons it was taking place. These first protests were against using violence to achieve profits. These people were against using military forces to enforce rules and culture upon other countries.

Not only were hippies and young people against this war, there are also Vietnam veterans that spoke out against the war. The journal article found on bmswar.org is a speech written by Bob Muller and presented on July 23rd, 1971. Bob Muller is a retired first lieutenant of the Marine Corps. He spoke from a wheelchair due to a crippling injury during his fighting days in the Vietnamese War. He spoke of many things that only someone who fought first hand could describe.

He joined the Marines during his first years of college and during training; he had his heart and mind set on going to fight in the war. He stated that he never really thought about the reasons behind the war. He only knew that he wanted to fight and kill. He did not ask himself or anyone why this war was happening in the first place. He said that when he thinks back on this it chills his spine. He thought he was fighting to repel an invasion of the Vietnamese, he thought they were being attacked by a Northern Communist government. “I was for the liberation of anyone who wanted to be set free.”

He thought about the times when they were invading cities that certain people that needed to be apprehended were hiding in. There maybe were two or three people in this city that needed to be killed, but their instructions were to level the entire city. Two kill 2, they killed 150. This was not an isolated incident, it happened all the time. Bob Muller realized that the war was wrong, but he had hatred in his heart that kept him fighting until the day he was shot and released into military retirement. He realized that fighting for peace is not the correct way to handle things. The last thing he said during this heartfelt speech is that all that he had left was love, and that was all he needed.

Love, peace, freedom is three of the main aspirations of the anti-war movements. It seems as though if the people who were actually fighting this war realized it, it would not be long until everyone realized it. The next peace movement took place on January 14th, 1967 according to coldwar.org. In San Francisco California, the leaders of the counterculture staged a “human be-in” at the Golden Gates. This summer would soon be called the “Summer of Love.” Thousands of people gathered here together to promote peace, love, and happiness. This area became a place of gathering and life for the hippies of the generation.

During this summer of love, many festivals were born spreading the messages of peace and love. Music, poetry, and many other theatrical performances were able to spread the message to people of all ages and creeds. This time also showed a change in the movement. Some of the people involved in the movement became a little less about flower power and more about serious business.

One of the most recognized gatherings of peace would be the Woodstock concerts. Among many other concerts that took place all over the United States, Woodstock was probably the largest. Some of the strongest musical leaders of this movement played there music for over five hundred thousand people during three days of peace in August, 1969. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and others gathered together sharing the same goals of peace, love, and happiness.

The truth of the matter is that no laws were passed and