The 1960's as the Summer of Love - Coursework Example

INTRODUCTION In today’s era of technological breakthrough, almost half a century ago seemed primeval. To think that most of the parents of this generation were born during the 1960s. And most of our surviving grandparents have lived through the “summer of love”. What exactly was the Summer of Love? The objectives of this essay are threefold: 1. To find out what and when did the summer of love occur; 2. To present the pros and cons of this period; and 3. To determine its effect on American culture at that time and its repercussion at present. WHAT AND WHEN WAS THE SUMMER OF LOVE? A. Definition: The Summer of Love “refers to summer of 1967, when an unprecedented gathering of as many as 100,000 young people converged on the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood of San Francisco, creating a phenomenon of cultural and political rebellion”. (The 1960s) It further described it as a “defining moment of the 1960s as the hippie counterculture movement came into public awareness”. Though it was originally defined as “summer of 1967”, researchers confirmed that the exact time period spanned ten (10) months from January 1967 up to October of that year. (Brief and Straightforward Guide: What was the Summer of Love?) B. The participants: The event was actually organized by the “hippies” who established this counterculture movement. The word “hippie” was defined in Webster dictionary as “a young person of the 1960s and 1970s who, in a state of alienation from conventional society, turned variously to mysticism, psychedelic drugs, etc. (2000 306) The 1960s further detailed the characteristics of the hippies as shown below: “Originally, hippies were part of a youth movement composed mostly of white teenagers and young adults, between the ages of 15 and 25 years old, who inherited a tradition of cultural dissent from the earlier Bohemians and beatniks. Hippies rejected established institutions, criticized middle class values, opposed nuclear weapons and the Vietnam war, embraced aspects of Eastern philosophy, championed sexual liberation, were often vegetarian and eco-friendly, promoted the use of psychedelic drugs to expand one’s consciousness, and created intentional communities and communes…” C. Factors that Brought About its Inception: According to Dorming, the following factors among others, led to the creation of the Summer of Love: 1. Political and social upheaval during the 1960s; 2. Inspiration from the 1950s’ Beat generation; 3. Establishment of a hippie counterculture; 4. Turbulence in America due to riots in Detroit and Newark, anti-Vietnam War protests; and 5. Majority of America’s population was composed of the young generation in their mid20s clamoring for change. Further, according to Todd (1987 67), “the decade of the 1960s in American History consisted of endless social turmoil due to the civil rights struggle and the conflict in Vietnam. It also stands out as one of the only times in American History, and perhaps World History, that a generation of youth significantly impacted politics and society. As students from relatively affluent families attended universities in record numbers, they possessed the means to become socially and politically active. These students did not need to worry about earning a living since the majority of their parents provided a majority of them with a means of support as they received an education. Being concerned with their own interests alone, many of these students looked outward to society and the problems developing in America. Starting with civil rights and ending with the war in Vietnam, these activist students were rarely at a loss for a cause to support. Many student groups focused on a single issue or were ideologically based.” D. Major Events: On January 14, 1967, artist Michael Bowen produced and organized a “Human Be-in” at the Golden Gate Park. This event was supposedly a “gathering of the tribes”. Details from Summer of Love (Wikipedia) reported that “this event was announced by the Haight-Ashbury’s own psychedelic newspaper, the San Francisco Oracle: “A new concept of celebrations beneath the human underground must emerge, become conscious, and be shared, so a revolution can be formed with a renaissance of compassion, awareness, and love and the revelation of unity for all mankind”. With this preclude, the number of youths begun to make a pilgrimage to the Haight-Ashbury district. At the event, free food, free drugs, free love were made available to all participants at the Golden Gate Park. There was also a Free Clinic which was established for medical treatment, as required; and even a Free store to give away basic necessities to anyone who needed them. There were concerts, exchange of poetry, activities which support the phase popularized by Timothy Leary, “Turn on, tune in, drop out”. On October 6, 1967, a ceremony entitled “Death of the Hippie’ was staged to mark the end of the event. This signaled all the rest of the young pilgrims to go back to their homes and savor the experiences they have encountered during the Summer of Love. PROS AND CONS OF THE PERIOD If one is to seriously evaluate and closely review the effects of this event, one might have the tendency to harshly conclude that there were little benefits from the Summer of Love. However, in the minds and hearts of the generation who established this, the following advantages were imminent: 1. The emergence of organized groups like “Diggers and the Haight-Ashbury” Free Clinic which came together to provide free food, free medical care and even a free store to those in need. 2. The legends in the music industry made their famous compositions with inspirations coming from the event, such as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (the Beatles) and Jimi Hendrix’s “Are You Experienced?” 3. The message of peace (and end the war in Vietnam) was emphasized. 4. There emerged a new fashion trend from the hippies (flowers on the hair, peace signs, fads in clothes, etc.) The disadvantages, however, of the event were as follows: 1. Easy access to drugs and sex. 2. Influx of diseases. 3. Medical chaos. 4. Liberalization of abortion. 5. Stress to the population and to the local authorities. There were even more disadvantages in terms of emotional, physical, mental changes that occurred in the youths themselves who attended and participated in the event. More so, the pain that this event caused to the parents of these teenagers could not be discounted. EFFECTS TO THE NATION After the Summer of Love, Dorming averred that “American society has never been the same since”. On October of 1967, the hippies themselves staged a “Death of the Hippie” to mark the end of this era and to practically shout to the youth that it was time to go home. The effects of this event to American culture could never be forgotten. Among these are: 1. The increase of sexually transmitted infectious diseases (STIs), such as genital herpes (HSV) infection, genital warts and other “persistent virus” (Horn). 2. The emergence of television shows skewed towards a younger audience (What was the Summer of Love) 3. The liberalization of showing television topics which were previously banned as they were considered taboos or controversial. 4. Incorporation of counterculture attributes in advertising and promotional materials of that period. 5. The stretching of limits for social services due to the influx of cash-poor young people who attended the event. (Dorming) 6. Mainstreaming of spiritual pursuits like yoga and Buddhism. CONCLUSION The Summer of Love in 1967 surprised America by the idiosyncrasies of that generation. Due to the restrictions imposed by a conventional and straight society dictated by the past, a counterculture called for freedom in expression. But the most important factors which called for change was the troubled situation at that decade. The war in Vietnam had serious effects in the lives of the American people whose husbands, sons, or brothers were fighting to end the war. The call for peace was overpowering. The effects reverberated throughout the world. Although a lot of the effects of the Summer of Love seem to be skewed to its negative implications to the society, the lessons that these provide give the world valuable experience in what a generation wanting change could do. Nobody could suppress the power of youth exudes. It was called a ripe time for upheaval. A ripe time to be heard. But as the ”people power” created change in that era, it was commendable to note that they also knew when to recognize its end. When their defined objectives were achieved, the Summer of Love bid its goodbye. WORKS CITED: The 1960s. Memories, Brief and Straightforward Guide: What was the Summer of Love? Webster’s New World Dictionary, Pocket Books, Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York, 2000. Dorming, Any Weaver, “What did the Summer of Love Leave Behind?” Gitlin, Todd, “The Sixties: Years of Hope, Days of Rage”, New York: Bantam, 1987. Summer of Love, Wikipedia: the Free Encyclopedia, >http.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_of_Love> Horn, Janet, “The After Effects of the ?Summer of Love?” Read More