The Hippy Social Movement

When you hear the words “sex, drugs, and rock n roll” what do you immediately think of? Hippies, of course. There is no exact definition of a hippie, which explains them quite well. Hippies are open-minded people who believe that as human beings, individuals can be or do anything imageable. It was around the 1960’s when the hippy social movement had initiated. This is when the counterculture of mind-altering drugs, rock and roll music, and casual sex came about, bringing thousands of the baby boomers’ generation with them. Who truly are the hippies and did they have a lasting impact on America?
To begin, Hippies were also typically white. Bobby Oerzen said in his article Down with It, “By 1967, an estimated 300,000 Americans were hippies. Many

Hippies often went by “if it feels good, do it.” These free-spirited people never thought of consequences of their actions, nor did they care. Hippies are known widely for their use of drugs. Hippies encouraged people to use dope. Timothy Miller states in his book The Hippies and American Values, “Some key insights were said to come while one was high, but they carried over to life in general, thus dope was critical because it was held to form the basis of an entirely new way of thinking.” This counterculture said that dope was not only socially acceptable but was not harmful to a human physically. Hippies also claimed dope brought about creative thinking. This was important for when hippies expressed themselves in art. Many famous artists of that time had admitted to using dope to help with their creativity. Another way hippies achieved happiness is being aware of nature and being in unity with it. Dope help them have an open mind of this concept and to get in touch with themselves and nature. They loved the world as it is, and wanted to preserve nature, because hippies didn’t believe in violence. Hippies used dope to help them bring happiness. This has had an influence on the youth of today. Marijuana has become a popular drug, and is becoming legal in states around

Their ideas and beliefs were widely knowing across the country. They were a movement who brought about the dispute of the leisure use of drugs, open-minded sexuality, and rock music. Hippies also had strong feelings about the importance of nature. “Perhaps the most enduring legacy of the counterculture is the role that it played in awakening public concern about the environmental crisis of the late twentieth century,” (Miller, 2012). Hippies had the goal of, also, to change society and make it more equal and free. In the article Beyond Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll: The Legacy of the Counter Culture Jon Hunner says, “The counter culture allowed middle class youths to move outside of mass society, and to critique mainstream traditions. Hippies also promoted globalization. They listened to music and studied fashion from across the world. Hippies may have not changed America entirely, but they did help lay out a