The 1960's in America Essay Example

Were the Sixties Good….or Bad for America? There are two different positions taken about the 1960's in America. One side says that the sixties were good for America and changed the way Americans live for the better. The other side says that the sixties were bad for America and gave Americans new freedoms and ideas that changed their lives for the worse. Both positions have evidence to support their arguments and make the sixties look like a time of social and economic freedom and reform or make the sixties look like a time of ignorant rebellion and youthful playfulness that is not acceptable in the real world. This essay is going to touch on most of the important reforms of the sixties but concentrate mostly on the Vietnam War in the sixties and its impact on the American people back home and in the war. The essay will also concentrate on the popularization of drug use in the sixties and its effect on the society and America's view on drug use. The position that is in favor of the sixties being a good time in America has many supporters. The sixties were the age of youth, as 70 million children from the post-war baby boom became teenagers and young adults. These people are known today as the baby boomers and they are people like my parents and teachers. The movement away from the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in revolutionary ways of thinking and real change in the cultural fabric of American life. No longer were people content to be images of the generation ahead of them, young people wanted change. The changes affected education, values, lifestyles, laws, entertainment, and public thinking as a whole. Many of the revolutionary ideas which began in the sixties are continuing to evolve today and help improve the way Americans live.
Two of the more important events to come out of the sixties were the Vietnam War and the popularization of drug use. The Vietnam War was probably the most unpopular war in the history of