Hippies
HippiesBy: Diana Perris
E-mail: Pekkle2000
Hippies The 1950�s gave to America certain ideals and values that were strongly followed and enforced, some of the people in the following generation took those ideals and attempted to destroy them. Most of them were just teenagers or young adults, but they all agreed that the lifestyle and beliefs that their parents and most other adults established didn�t make sense and needed to be changed. These kids started to defy authority and soon were getting encouragement from popular bands, actors, and authors. As the 60�s went on, adults kept trying to put an end to this resistance, but the anarchists started to join together to create a movement that stood up against society and tried to change it. The people creating this movement became to be called the counterculture. The children of the counterculture fought for change by rebelling against the standards of society by using drugs, protesting political issues, and expressing their free love. Music and fashion helped them make their impact. The 1950�s brought great economic growth and with it the dream for a perfect life in a perfect country. Many people got married young and had children quickly, moved into suburbs, and found good jobs. They expected nothing else but for their children to go to college and follow in their footsteps. Adults had faith in the American government, and believed that any hard working, dedicated and honest man would succeed, and of course, they thought that their children would conform to their traditional values. Young adults were expected to look and act a certain way. Young men had to have their hair cut short, be clean shaven, and dress in suits or nice clothes all the time. Young women should always wear the right amount of makeup, have their hair done, and wear skirts or dresses even when they are at home.#1 The children of these flawless parents grew up listening to what their own futures would hold and most weren't given a choice in how they went. Their naive parents thought that they could mold their lives but it just ended up pushing their kids further away. Their kids had no reason to believe in their ways or follow them, destroying their parents� dreams. As the adults kept attempting to change their children�s path, most kids were struggling for freedom and started doing more and more extreme things so that they wouldn�t be associated with their parents� beliefs. They stopped dressing like their parents and both girls and guys wore sandals everyday with tight jeans that flared out at the ankles called bellbottoms. Many wore outrageous, colorful, controversial clothing to shock the mainstream society. They wore flowers in their hair as a sign for peace and love, earning them the nickname �flower children�. The kids thought that their fashion trends as well as ideas were with it, or hip, so they named themselves �hippies�.#2 A Hippie was never alone. They joined together with a common bond to demolish...
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