Was There Anything Positive About Hippy Era?

One of the most interesting accounts of how the Hippie era got started , and what it was really all about, was written by a man named Dave McGowan, who also wrote the book, “Wagging the Moondoggie”, about the moon expeditions back in the same era.
Dave passed away a few years ago, but his daughter maintains the website with all of Dave’s work on it, so you can read it for free.
It is called “Center for an Informed America”, and has some pretty interesting stuff about the hippie beginnings and the rock musicians who led the music industry at the time.
Besides writing about the Hippie Era, he also writes about the Lincoln assassination, the Boston Bombing, and the 911 attacks, and of course, the moon landings.

Here is the website link for the Hippie information, and about Laurel Canyon, where many of the musicians lived.
https://centerforaninformedamerica.com/laurelcanyon/

 

The sex was good. So was the music, and I liked being able to wear the same clothes for years. I am happy I came of age in the 1960s because it was a very interesting time. I wouldn't have been so pleased if I had served in the military during that time. While it still might have been an interesting time, it would have been radically different than what I experienced.

The 1960s, raising my son in the 1970s and 1980s, and working as a paramedic between the 1980s and 1990s, were the consequential periods of my life, as far as yielding the most stuff that I can look back on with interest, if not enjoyment.

Being able to hitchhike around the country without worrying about having money, starving to death, or being murdered, was a fascinating time. I could leave my home with a small backpack containing one change of clothing and a sleeping bag in case I was stranded somewhere, and no money whatsoever, and travel across the country, finding people who seemed to be part of the same community as me was precious. While I pointedly stayed out of a few places, like Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia, there were few places where I didn't feel welcomed, not only by fellow hippies (although hippies didn't use that term until it became marketable) but by pretty much anyone under thirty. Soldiers on leave were generally safe and amiable rides, for that matter, as were truck drivers and sometimes the police.

There was a greater potential for danger in larger cities or during antiwar protests, but the most dangerous people at an antiwar rally probably had badges hidden in their pockets. But even in the big cities, while I worried sometimes, I didn't encounter any problems that I couldn't get out of.

There was a sense that we were changing the world, and that drive gave a sense of purpose, I think the 1960s did change the world. The 1960s probably had as much of an effect on the world, or at least the United States, since I can't speak for other countries, as the 2010s and 2020s have, only the government or deep state is the driving force behind the changes going on now, while we were opposed by the government during the 1960s.

If the question was whether the 1960s was good for America, that would certainly be another question. While I think ending the War in Vietnam was a positive goal, and the effects of living through the 1960s as a participant carried with it some good things, the changes that the 1960s brought were not wholly positive.

Like the past couple of decades, the 1960s brought a breakdown in society that may never be repaired on a societal basis, although individuals and families can certainly choose not to participate in that which is not good, and some do.

If we are ever going to rebuild society, it will have to be done on an individual or family basis. We won't be able to do it through legislation and the churches have largely chosen not to participate,

 

No beads or flowers for me either, and any patches I had were covering holes.