"Make Love not War"
![Picture](/uploads/4/5/5/5/45550271/4446034_orig.jpg)
The world events that were occurring
during the 1960’s played a major role into the formation of the hippie
subculture. Many people that joined this
subculture didn’t agree with what our government was doing in terms of the war. Slang terms were created when referencing the
government such as ‘The Man’ and ‘Big Brother.’ They felt as if the government was restricting
them and controlling their lives. They
went against the government to show that they were capable of thinking for
themselves and they didn’t need anyone governing over them. This gave the hippies a central idea that
they based their most ethics off of.
The Vietnam War was going on during the 60’s and that is what lead to the famous, “make love not war” slogan that showed on many protest banners at this time (see Figure 1). Many people with the same beliefs of opposing war joined together and had protests to show the government how they really felt and to voice their opinions. When they gained more and more followers, they soon began their own subculture which eventually lead to the hippies being formed. The hippie generation didn’t like the idea of their own people being killed for, what they saw was, no reason or purpose. The Vietnam War was not the only contributor to the politics aspect; there were many different contributors such as, freedom of speech, the Civil Rights movement, and even some environmental issues.
Freedom of speech played a major role as well. During this time period, much of our nation’s youth was meant to be seen and not heard. Since many hippies were still in their prime years of youth, freedom of speech was another obstacle they had to overcome. Much of society didn’t care for what they had to say because they were so outspoken and going against what society thought was the norm. According to the Wikipedia page on hippies, this started to change with the riots that began at Berkley college in California. Police force was used in order to try and stop the protests but they couldn’t because of their First Amendment right to freedom of speech. By using their freedom of speech, hippies across the nation were able to get their ideas and ethics out to every member of society so they’re views could be heard and shared.
The Civil Rights movement also played a key role during the hippie generation. The peaceful, nonviolent protests lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were exactly what the hippies were looking for. They wanted more peace throughout our country and what better way to demonstrate that than with a peaceful protest. There was no need to be violent when sharing one’s ideas on political views; there was no need for a war among United States citizens. According to a novel written by Timothy Miller, hippies promoted “free love.” (The Hippies and American values) They were all for promoting love and peace. The Civil Rights movement helped build many of the ideas the hippie subculture followed.
Another aspect that played a role was the fact that environmental issues were beginning to surface. Many people saw the impact the hippies were having on society and the government and wanted to use them to their own advantage. U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson felt that not enough was done about the recent oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. He jumped on the hippie bandwagon to get his ideas of pollution and wildlife depletion rolling (Turner, Synonym). He organized the first Earth Day and those that opposed the abuse of the environment started many campus protests across the nation. Soon the main focus in the United States was environmental issues and the hippie subculture grew even stronger.
The Vietnam War was going on during the 60’s and that is what lead to the famous, “make love not war” slogan that showed on many protest banners at this time (see Figure 1). Many people with the same beliefs of opposing war joined together and had protests to show the government how they really felt and to voice their opinions. When they gained more and more followers, they soon began their own subculture which eventually lead to the hippies being formed. The hippie generation didn’t like the idea of their own people being killed for, what they saw was, no reason or purpose. The Vietnam War was not the only contributor to the politics aspect; there were many different contributors such as, freedom of speech, the Civil Rights movement, and even some environmental issues.
Freedom of speech played a major role as well. During this time period, much of our nation’s youth was meant to be seen and not heard. Since many hippies were still in their prime years of youth, freedom of speech was another obstacle they had to overcome. Much of society didn’t care for what they had to say because they were so outspoken and going against what society thought was the norm. According to the Wikipedia page on hippies, this started to change with the riots that began at Berkley college in California. Police force was used in order to try and stop the protests but they couldn’t because of their First Amendment right to freedom of speech. By using their freedom of speech, hippies across the nation were able to get their ideas and ethics out to every member of society so they’re views could be heard and shared.
The Civil Rights movement also played a key role during the hippie generation. The peaceful, nonviolent protests lead by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were exactly what the hippies were looking for. They wanted more peace throughout our country and what better way to demonstrate that than with a peaceful protest. There was no need to be violent when sharing one’s ideas on political views; there was no need for a war among United States citizens. According to a novel written by Timothy Miller, hippies promoted “free love.” (The Hippies and American values) They were all for promoting love and peace. The Civil Rights movement helped build many of the ideas the hippie subculture followed.
Another aspect that played a role was the fact that environmental issues were beginning to surface. Many people saw the impact the hippies were having on society and the government and wanted to use them to their own advantage. U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson felt that not enough was done about the recent oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. He jumped on the hippie bandwagon to get his ideas of pollution and wildlife depletion rolling (Turner, Synonym). He organized the first Earth Day and those that opposed the abuse of the environment started many campus protests across the nation. Soon the main focus in the United States was environmental issues and the hippie subculture grew even stronger.