Gay Rights Movement example essay topic

"We are here to make a better world. No amount of rationalization or blaming can preempt the moment of choice each of us brings to our situation here on this planet. The lesson of the 60's is that people who cared enough to do right could change history. We didn't end racism but we ended legal segregation. We ended the idea that you could send half-a-million soldiers around the world to fight a war that people do not support. We ended the idea that women are second-class citizens.

We made the environment an issue that couldn't be avoided. The big battles that we won cannot be reversed. We were young, self-righteous, hypocritical, brave, silly, headstrong and scared half to death. And we were right". ~Abbie Hoffman The sixties were the age for youth, as 70 million children from the post-World War II baby boom became teenagers and young adults. (Roszak, 4).

The movement of these young people away from their parent's conservative views resulted in revolutionary ways and thinking. No longer content with being mirrors of their parent's generation, these people wanted change. These changes brought about a culture unlike any before. They were youth with a voice and some of their ideas were successful. Many of the revolutionary ideas that began in the sixties are still alive today. The attitudes of the 1950's were democratic, faithful in the all-powerful government and very Christian-centered.

(Psychedelic Sixties, 3). The people coming of age with these attitudes, however, were not content with them. (Melville, 10). The economy was booming, fueled by America's success in the war and the surge for families to provide for themselves.

This caused many people to be economically stable enough to want change. Generally, one must be economically stable to care about the stability of others. More teenagers than ever were going to college. This meant a more well-educated generation than ever before was coming of age. "By 1968, 1 in every 2 baby boomers attended some form of higher education" (Roszak, 15). People began to lose faith in the government.

This was fueled by the war in Vietnam as well as nuclear testing and civil rights. The war made people question not only the American government, (called the "Establishment") but also all 20th century democratic views. (Roszak, 21). No one understood why we were pushing democracy on the world. Capitalism and democracy were blamed for the ills of society; pollution, the Vietnam War, and poverty. (20th Century American Culture, 2).

Many people became concerned about the health effects of nuclear testing. They were successful in getting a ban on aboveground testing in 1963. (20th Century American Culture, 3). The radioactive material Strontium 90 was even found in American's drinking milk, which caused even more distrust.

Even the struggle by African Americans to gain freedom and equality caused a questioning of the authority of the American government. Medical and scientific discoveries also fueled the 60's counterculture. Medical experiments in Switzerland created the psychedelic drug, LSD, which was popular in the 1960's. (Wolfe, 11). Musicians used it to create a deeper meaning to their music and people used it to look deeper into themselves. Marijuana, previously a "working class drug", also became more widely used as youth looked for a way out.

(Wolfe, 12). These drugs allowed a person to step outside of themselves and society, so they forced a person to question mainstream society. (Wolfe, 12). A medical breakthrough was the anti-pregnancy pill. (American [Counter] Cultural History: 1960-1969, 3). This pill made Americans a lot more sexually active and changed the way Americans engaged in and viewed sex.

So, the counter culture was shaped by a generation of young people blessed with material wealth and education; together on college campuses; amazed by the draft and the Vietnam War; and troubled by the democratic and capitalistic views of their society. These young people came together on campuses, street corners, and even suburban lawns and created a very powerful force. Places such as Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco and the East Village in New York became centers for counterculture activity. (Wolfe, 18).

Their social protest movements challenged almost every aspect of daily life, including dress, capitalism, gender roles, the environment, and civil rights. Musicians soon promoted the message of the "hippie generation" in their music and this became the soul of the movement. Never again has music spoken so clearly and poetically about the ills of society and drawn so many to change them. (Psychedelic Sixties, 5).

"A "hippie" was a young person who preached peace and love, dropped out of society, and usually did drugs". (American [Counter] Cultural History: 1960-1969, 4). The hippies borrowed philosophy from Henry David Thoreau (get back to nature, simplicity), and from Eastern cultures and the Native Americans. The effects of these cultures on the youth of the 60's caused many social and political changes.

There were many movements and events that shaped the counterculture. Young people started to become very concerned about the environment. In 1962, the book, Silent Spring, was published. (Melville, 53). The book outlined the dangers of chemical pesticides on people and the environment. "Throughout the 1960's, many became aware of the pollutants surrounding them-automobile emissions, industrial wastes, oil spills-that threatened their health and the beauty of their surroundings", (Melville, 56).

On April 22, 1965 the United States officially celebrated Earth Day, with "Teach-Ins" across the country on the dangers of environmental pollution. (Melville, 56). The youth of the country were very successful in getting the government's attention in regards to the environment. In 1970, Congress amended the Clean Air Act to develop air-quality standards. The Water Quality Improvement Act was also passed, making the cleaning of oil spills the responsibility of the polluter. Also, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created, which is still in effect today.

(Melville, 57). The environment was not just another cause for protest which faded over time. It has stayed in the minds of people ever since the first protest against damaging it. Youth made the environment a top priority in the eyes of the nation and made significant changes, which are still vital to our conservation efforts today. Another long-lasting movement, which began with the counterculture, was gay rights. The gay rights movement grew with the civil rights movement, though it is far less recognized.

The civil rights movement showed how unjust many laws were and how unreasonable the prejudices were behind the laws. Frank Kamen y, a gay rights activist in the 1960's, coined the phrase "Gay is Good". (20th Century American Culture, 6). This phrase was a direct imitation of "Black is Beautiful", but meant the same thing; equality should not mean becoming identical. The theme of the counterculture seemed to be self -exploration and this applied directly to gays.

The Gay Rights Alliance was formed in the mid-1960's and it started many protests and marches. On June 28, 1969, police in Greenwich Village, New York raided a bar. It was called Stonewall Inn and was a meeting place for gay-rights activists. The people inside the bar fought back, trapping police inside and rioted for five days.

(American [Counter] Cultural History: 1960-1969, 7). This incident is considered the peak of the 1960's gay-rights movement. The last week of June is now considered Gay Pride Week. The Matta chine Society, which was formed in the mid-1950's, also held a place in the gay-rights movement. Gay rights are still being fought for today. The groundwork was laid by the counterculture of the 1960's, which helped gay people come out and fight for their rights.

Although, they did not achieve full equality, they made important changes needed to continue the struggle. Another important movement that stemmed from the counterculture was women's rights. During the 1960's, two types of women's groups came into existence. One type were small, informal groups, which promoted discussion and self-awareness as the most powerful tools to combat inequality. They fought to establish greater equality between men and women in marriage, child raising, education and the work force.

(Roszak, 96) These groups were the local stepping-stones toward the other type of women's rights organizations. These were the large, formal groups. These groups worked nationally in passing, and strictly enforcing equal rights laws. Kennedy's Commission on the Status of Women reported on laws that banned women from certain rights.

They could not serve on juries, and were excluded from many occupations. In 1966 the National Organization for Women (NOW) was established to fight sexual discrimination. (Roszak, 96-97). This group is still in existence today. Women's rights came at a time when women were more in control of their lives. The counterculture raised women to an equal standard because, in their eyes, everyone was equal.

Women did not want to be viewed as the "housewife"; they wanted jobs with equal pay and the same promotion opportunities as men. Betty Friedan wrote a book called The Feminine Mystique, which argues that society puts pressure on women to become housewives instead of seeking a career. This book became the bible of many women's rights organizations. Friedan helped form NOW and organized the Women's Strike for Equality.

(20th Century American Culture, 8). The women's movement is still alive; "the percentage of working women rose from 28 percent in 1950 to over 62 percent in 1996", (20th Century American Culture, 8-9). The women's rights movement has helped women gain more respect in the work community but they still only earn about 86 percent of what men in an equal job make. (Roszak, 97). The women's movement has come a long way since the time of the counterculture, where it began. If not for the "peace, love, equality" atmosphere of the counterculture, women might not have found the voice to speak out against the discrimination forced on them.

The counterculture has many other influences on society today other than the movements it started. Music was more important to the "Woodstock generation" than any before them. This was partially due to the amount of hallucinogenic drugs the artists consumed. It was also a way for the counterculture to get their message across to the general public. The group found that one of their most effective outlets was their music.

"The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, and Pink Floyd provided the rhythm and power and poets like Bob Dylan and John Lennon put to words and rhyme the hopes, dreams, and fears of the baby-boom generation", (Roszak, 61). The music spoke to the hippies like none other. It expressed exactly what they felt, when they felt it. The music mixed all genres; including R&B, folk, rock and roll, and even Eastern. Almost every band popular at the time experimented with psychedelics, such as LSD. (American [Counter] Cultural History: 1960-1969, 8).

Sub-genres were also created. Some of these were heavy metal and art rock. "Love-ins" were a time where music was heard most frequently. The culmination of counterculture music came at a three day festival called Woodstock. Woodstock showed the members of the counterculture that there really was strength in numbers, no matter what age. Almost half a million people gathered at Yasgur's Farm in New York for "Three Days of Peace and Love".

They shared drugs, had sex in public, and ran around in the rain and mud. Bands played nonstop, some considered it the finest moment for music in the counterculture. (American [Counter] Cultural History: 1960-1969, 8-9). Soon, music took a turn for the worst.

Only four weeks after Woodstock, 300,000 people gathered to hear a free concert by the Rolling Stones in California. The Hell's Angels, who were hired to provide security, beat a 19-year old black man named Meredith Hunter to death. "Violence and Hate emerged just weeks after the peak of Peace and Love", (Melville, 78). After this tragic incident, the counterculture died down.

The peace and love that was on everyone's mind had turned into racism and hatred. Many people lost faith in their cause. This is also partly due to the capitalism that moved in shortly after 1969. Companies soon wanted to cash in on this culture. The "real" hippies soon became disillusioned as they realized that even their self-made culture could not hold out from the grips of capitalism.

What puzzles us today is how the very same peace-loving hippies of the counterculture condemn it now. This is because they became disillusioned, their time of harmony died quickly with the drugs and capitalism that came in on the hippie phenomena. They have become skeptical to the thought of it ever becoming reality again. The counterculture allowed the middle class to become the center of change. The movements allowed middle class youths to step outside the mainstream, something that was not previously available to them. (Melville, 7).

The culture liberated many social restraints that had previously burdened certain groups in society. Women, African-Americans, gay men and women, and the youth all gained more respect and political power than ever before. It also expanded America's cultural consciousness by embracing elements from other cultures. The youth of the counterculture brought in Eastern music, Buddhist meditation, Native American ideals and many others. They were open enough to do what none had done before-insert in their lives parts of other diverse cultures. The last legacy of the counterculture was its music.

Although it is more than 30 years old, the music of the counterculture is still heard in abundance today, as it was the voice of a generation. The counterculture did not radically change American society by overthrowing democracy and capitalism. It did, however, rock the foundation of society. Their challenge to the system can still be felt today in the aftershocks.

The counterculture marked a transition in American history, a move away from Protestant values that had long dominated United States' politics and culture. Today's culture is a mirror image of the diversity that makes up our soil. The counterculture prepared us for this shift. By the extreme radical behavior of the youth of the 60's, we were forced into evaluating our own lifestyles. The counterculture made changes which are still vitally important to our culture, politics and lives today.