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Baby Boomer Generation Counterculture

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Baby Boomer Generation Counterculture
Landon Jones once said, "the cry of the baby was heard across the land" (Baby Boomer-History Channel). This quote refers to the post World War II era, the beginning of the baby boom, where millions of babies were born between 1946-1964. By 1964 this new generation made up almost 40% of the nation's population. Baby Boomers grew up in a suburban lifestyle and were constantly surrounded by material culture, but by their teenage years they began to resist consumerism and suburban ethos. The baby boomers "began to fight for social, economic and political equality for disadvantaged groups....and some dropped out of political life altogether" (Baby Boomers-History Channel). This resistance from the baby boomers began the counterculture of the 1960s. …show more content…
The Vietnam War was a big component in helping fuel activism among the youth counterculture. The baby boomer generation expressed theirs ideals on war and opinions regarding the draft. Members apart of the counterculture movement felt an obligation to do something about their friends going to war overseas and the war in general. The largest anti-war movement concerning the Vietnam War was the Vietnam Moratoirium. On October 15, 1969 the anti-war movement had their largest demonstration yet, the Vietnam Moratorium. It was not a centralized event occurring in just one major city, but a powerful effort made all over the country. The idea was to have all participants drop their usual responsibilities and protest the war in the middle of the week. The government did not like the deviance the youth counterculture was displaying in this protest and wanted the counterculture to look useless to the …show more content…
Psychedelic Drugs were a main part of the youth counterculture movement. Doctor Timothy Leary, a Harvard Professor, encouraged the youth to take part in the use of psychedelic drugs (57.h Flower Power n.pag). Hippies of this era experimented with marijuana, lysergic acid diethylamide, also known asLSD, and heroine. Experimentation with these drugs allowed the baby boomers to feel apart of a society and felt a sense of inspiration while on these drugs. Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison were well known rock and roll figures that the hippie's looked upon as role models in the drug
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