The 60s And Freedom
Most of the time, when thinking back to the sixties, people remember
hearing about things such as sex, drugs, and racism. However, what they
often tend to overlook is the large emphasis "freedoms" had on the era.
This does not just refer to the freedoms already possessed by every
American of the time. This focuses on the youth's fight to gain freedom or
break away from the values and ideas left behind by the older generation.
While some authors when writing about the sixties give serious accounts of
the youths' fights to obtain these freedoms, others tend to take a
different and more dramatic approach to showing the struggles involved in
these fights. Yet, all of the authors have the same ...
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older generation.
The two different approaches used by authors to express these views
are often representative of the two main systems used by youths to help
gain their freedoms. The first approach, taken by the Port Huron Statement
and authors such as Gerzon, Reich, Revel and Gitlin, follows the ideals of
the New Left. The New Left represents youths striving for political change
through cultural means. People are encouraged to work for their ideals. In
contrast, the second approach, taken by Rubin and Didion, reflect the
ideals and mannerisms of the "Be-in" society. The "Be-ins" represent
another group of youths who attempt to gain freedoms through more radical
means. This group focuses on more idealistic goals. The members yearn for a
utopian society. However, both groups feel that the youth in society should
be able to express themselves and live their lives in their own way, not
some way left behind by the previous generation.
The way left behind by the older ...
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been manipulated
into thinking they were incompetent by their surroundings (166). Reich even
goes as far as to say that "it is a crime to allow oneself to become an
instrumental being" (Reich 56).
The older society, by viewing man as incapable of controlling his own
life, has also led their generation to concentrate primarily on
institutions, public interest, and society as the basic reality. However,
the younger generation deals more with the self. One should be able to
create their own values, lifestyle, and culture (Reich 56). Rubin seems to
claim, in a more vocal manner, that the older generation has not left a
place in the world for the younger generation to live. The older ...
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