Allen Ginsberg and the Anti-War movement The Beats are well known for greatly influencing art and literature. With spirits of reckless abandon they began a rebellion against the building of the “American Dream” and the rigid gender roles and social conformity that came with it. Inspired by the Romantics, jazz music, and the dada movement the Beat Generation set out to throw away the rules, punctuation, and limitation it order to write creatively. They wanted their writing to be uncensored, unadulterated, turning heads and making blood pump hotter. The Beats were educated enough to change the system, the rebellion of the hippie movement was possible because of their understanding of what came before them. Allen Ginsberg in particular desired …show more content…
He was there along with members of the National Mobilization Committee and chanted in order to help keep the calm in crowds who were faced with brutality in the form of tear gas and billy clubs. Additionally, Ginsberg was one of the people who helped organize one of the first counterculture festivals, a religious festival called “Gathering of the Tribes for a Human Be-In.” The festival encouraged people to question authority in regards to civil, women’s, and consumer rights. It was the first of its kind but it inspired many others. Ginsberg also wrote “How to Make a March/Spectacle” in 1965 which discouraged using anger to protest and instead use love to fight hate. Ginsberg was popular as a spokesman for the “hippies” because of his political views, involvement with Eastern meditation practices, and his support of homosexuality. The term “flower power” became associated with Ginsberg because of his suggestion of using “masses of flowers” in protest. Ginsberg’s image was eventually used and he literally became the poster boy for protesting the Vietnam