Submitted by: Submitted by nshattuc
Views: 348
Words: 2981
Pages: 12
Category: US History
Date Submitted: 04/13/2013 07:50 PM
Rock Music and Drug Influence: American Counterculture in the Sixties
The sixties was a decade marked with great changes and movements that originated from social turmoil about issues such as civil rights for African Americans, the war in Vietnam, politics, and conservative ideals of the fifties, among other issues that plagued multiple groups and generations, primarily the youth. The youth wanted a movement away from the conservative fifties toward a more revolutionary way of thinking to bring about real change in the cultural fabric of American life. They sought change in education, values, lifestyles, laws, and entertainment that would bring about a better way of life. Perhaps some of the biggest influences on how the youth viewed society and their role in it were the birth of rock music and the role of psychedelic drugs in adolescent culture. In this discussion, I will talk about the influence music and drugs played on the youth’s perspective of issues such as civil rights, the antiwar movement, and social injustice. Information about drugs and music in the early sixties and seventies will be presented to support the argument that music and psychedelic drugs brought about changes in how the youth viewed life and everything going on around them in the sixties, opening their minds to the social injustice taking place; ultimately, they realized it was up to them to bring about a change in society. Information about how musical groups such as The Grateful Dead, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Jefferson Airplane used music to express explicit socio-political messages will be presented, as well as an analysis of the Woodstock event and the summer of love. I will also look at how people like Timothy Leary advocated the use of psychedelic drugs such as lysergic acid diethylamid (LSD) and magic mushrooms (psilocybin) to bring about profound mystical and spiritual experiences which, in many cases, permanently altered users’ lives in a positive manner.
1
In order...