1 If you really know the sixties and people from the 60s they'll tell you. After the civil rights act, the war movement ended in disaster, chaos and death, much like the war did a few years later. A bunch of idiots believeing only in their own self worth and indulgence and not much else.  This comes from a sense of entitlement from the good life the WWII generation earned for them.  They betrayed that heritage. They still believed in Miller Time plus a few more things, but the days work the ones before did to earn it was left out entirely.

2 WELL, some may hate me for bringing this stuff up, but here goes:
The 60's brought us,
-Stereo music, vinyl 33 1/3 records (albums)
-Beatnik poetry, Jack Kerouac, Leonard Cohen
-Eastern philosphies, meditation, tai chi, Zen Buddhism, the Bagav'd Gita, the Tibetan Book of the Dead, Kahil Gibran
-Lord of the Rings, cafe's called Middle Earth
-American black emacipation and sufferage
-The birth of the 'New Left' (thinly vieled Socialism)
-The Mustang, the birth control pill, the VW beetle
-The VW van, road trips, world backpacking
-Single women travelling alone from Turkey through Afganistan to Goa, India, to meditate in the dirt.
-Greenpeace, environmentalism, 'Silent Spring'
-Carrot Cake
-Eating wierd food from other cultures and liking it
-Living alone in the wilderness for no particular reason
-Hippie communes where everyone argued and had sex all day
-Motorcycles, and travel, and Bolivia
-Majoring in Socialogy, or Political Science, or Social Anthropology, and taking it very seriously
-Feminism, feminism, and more feminism
-People who said that the purpose of life was to have fun
-Getting stoned and dying in a stupid car crash
-Tie-dyed T-shirts, Macrame belts, Ya-Ya skirts, hot pants, leotards, Batik, no bras, swimming naked
-Sex toys, threesomes, group marriages, vibrators, flavored condoms, spending all day being jealous
-Health food, vegetarianism, vegans, getting sick from malnutrition
-Getting beaten up for having long hair
-Black Power, Black Panthers, Muhammed Ali, meaningless riots, black violence, hippie racism
-hitchhiking around the world

And many, many more

3 60's academia ruined America. Problem is those educated in the 60's are running education today. Bring forth the big enema.

4 And what was the alternative offering of entertainment in the 60's?  (...)

Listening to Hendrix whilst smoking a spliff doesn't say a thing about your view of the world (other than that you like Hendrix and smoking) and I certainly am not going to listen to country crap music and break open a 6-pack just because I am a staunch conservative in most of my believes...

The right has some good politics but their taste in music and clothing is frumpy, and their drugs are lame. 

And choosing the best of both worlds just gets you disliked by everyone (heh) how cool is that?   

5 That's why I said their music was good, but little else. Read the post again.

I'm a light-core Deadhead, fer chrissakes. Without the drugs.

6 Ah, I misunderstood your 'half-decent' compliment *grin*

You can see this two ways:  either the left hijacked youth culture, or, the right abandoned it.  

It's really hard to be part of that culture and have a conservative way of thinking because much of that comes from the ability to plan long-term and to know what happens over time, which in turn is taught to you by someone older and not your peers.

There is also a cultural fear of right-wing youth culture -- it's associated with fascism or religious indoctrination.  Notable is also the dearth of easily crafted and recognised symbols -- the peace and anarchy sign, Che, etc hat are recognisable internationally, what does the right have?

Most people are actually quite apolotical -- they can regurgitate a party line, but in the end what counts is that the music is loud, the booze is strong and the chicks are hot.

And for those that want to believe in something, well, the left has this messianic air about itself -- once they get into power, everything will be love, peace, apple pie.  It's a wholesome kind of crazy.

As for drugs being influential on warped minds -- drugs unfortunately do no such thing *smirk*  warped minds will still be warped no matter how many mushrooms are munched on to achieve satori... ;>

And still the same thing is happening now as was then, the right is losing the youth culture battle without even contesting the field -- and maybe your rejection of this culture is part of the reason why?

7 The only thing the 60's generation should be remember as is the fact that in one generation they brought the most powerfull nation on earth to its knees and whether we survive or die from the horrible damage done by the 60's generation is still up in the air at this point.

8 Having grown up in the sixties, I did not become a "product" of
it.  At one point I grew up, looked at world after taking off the
rose-colored lenses, and began the work necessary to correct any damage
I may have done with my own self-indulgence and ignorance.



I still prefer my birkenstocks and I burn incense in my home, among
other hippie-like things, but those are superficial things and I
learned to embrace the conservatism of my parents and strive to
preserve their ethics and values.



One thing I refuse to do though is wear bell bottoms.  Good God - those were just awful, weren't they?

9 Yes, they were.