Haight-Ashbury Beat Of The Counterculture Essay

Unlike their parents, the American youth advocated for women’s and civil rights and, endeavored to revolutionize American values with their ideas (Haight-Asbury Beat of a Generation). As a result of the teenage desire to defy authority’s standards, the youth of the United States began fleeing to parts of the country which embraced “sexual liberation,” (Bhaddock), drug use, and pacifism. Haight-Ashbury is perhaps the most prominent example of a congregation of members of the counterculture movement. Many of these young hopefuls fleeing to the District were runaways, dropouts, or drug dealers (Cavallo) aiming to evade their fears and responsibilities. Rather than following the traditional lifestyle of completing an education and living within the strict borders of society, they chose to escape to the small neighborhood in San Francisco. In short, Haight-Ashbury offered hope to a generation “like America to the rest of the world” (Haight-Asbury: The Beat of a Generation).
Because of the hippie’s distrust and ignorance of the institution of writing (Thompson), music became an integral part of hippie culture. Music allowed the hippies to express their distaste towards the Vietnamese war and provided a common base for people to connect. Popular “psychedelic musical talent acts” (Bhaddock), such as The Grateful Dead and Big …show more content…
The drugs offered an alternate reality which the residents viewed as a means of “self-discovery” and they justified this experience as a way to understand the universe (Haight-Asbury: The Beat of a Generation). This reaction demonstrates the powerful and mind-altering effects of LSD. In addition, based on Joan Didion’s observation of people using LSD , it is determined that these three individuals were able to become frozen in time in order to escape their reality for a few hours (Didion