The sixties was a decade that changed America and the world. Before the hippie movement and free love we had beatniks, but in the early sixties most people thought they were oddballs . By the end of the 1960's the beatnik ideas such as questioning authority became more accepted as the hippy lifestyle became more prevalent. Students at universities protested against the draft and burned their draft cards, and many of these same students were trying to change the way classes were taught. One of my professors told us that in the late sixties he would walk into a lecture hall and the students began to lecture him, which was a grand departure from the status quo where people attended classes and unquestioningly took notes.

This hub is a comparison of the time before the sixties and how the sixties change the way we think. Today we can log onto the worldwide web and read about people all over the world questioning their leaders, but after World War II this was not the case. Some really good things have come out of the sixties such as the Civil Rights movement and women have equal rights, but sometimes there are some bad side effects like people feeling they can see whatever they like. As I read many things in books on the worldwide web I see many people feel they can tear anyone down they like. They do not like the way one person is acting or the way they are being, so they decide to use mean words to describe those feelings. I think questioning authority is a healthy part of democracy and helps to keep our political leaders in check, but there are instances where this goes way to far. The amount of questioning that takes place today would not have been possible if it had not been for the Vietnam war and the sixties. In this hub I will discuss the differences in culture and society before and after the sixties, so it will be an examination of how life has changed over these short forty years.

My grandpa had turned nineteen in 1943 and served in World War II, but he never once questioned joining the war effort. When I asked him about this he said he felt he was doing his duty to protect the country and restore world democracy. My grandpa lived in a time when people listened to their leaders and never questioned authority. He and most people of his generation thought President Franklin D Roosevelt who was a courageous war leader, but today he might be villainized as a philanderer who cheated on his wife. However, in my grandpa's time people did not know about the private lives of their political leaders or even about the private lives of each other.

The end of the war brought about many changes for the United States. For one Roosevelt died that year and was replaced by Vice President Harry S. Truman. The GI Bill was passed by Congress, which enabled military veterans to attend colleges and universities and become the first college graduates in their family. My grandpa's parents were immigrants and had barely learned to read and write, so they were ecstatic when he used the GI Bill to go to school and become a teacher. My grandpa's education enabled him to take care of his family and provide a better standard of living than his parents had, even though it was on the albeit small teacher's salary.

Many veterans used the GI Bill to obtain degrees that allowed them to enter the fields of medicine, law, teaching, engineering, and many different types of humanities and sciences. Businesses were doing well, people were making more money, and the economy was healthy and growing. During the fifties and sixties my dad, my aunts, and my uncle were growing up in a time where they had more leisure than my grandpa had had as a child. Like many Americans my grandpa worked hard so his children would be able to go to college. All of them went and they took for granted what my grandpa had had to work hard for when he was their age. Many Americans were going through the same thing where for the first time you had college kids that did not have to work to put themselves through school, but a large group that were able to have free time to learn and discuss new ideas.

My dad graduated from high school and went to college in the late sixties. By this time the US had begun to implement Civil Rights and America was fighting an unpopular war in Vietnam. Many people do not realize how the United States became embroiled in the Vietnam War, but it began shortly after the Second World War when the Japanese occupiers were thrown out and rule was restored to France. However, the French were having a hard time trying to hold onto their colony and the United States stepped in to support them and the pro-Capitalist Vietnamese. Nevertheless, the Viet Minh were support by China and France was tired of fighting a losing battle to maintain this colony. In 1954 the French withdrew from Vietnam and the United States continued to give military support to the pro-Capitalist Vietnamese forces.

For the rest of the fifties and into the early sixties the war in Vietnam began to escalate with more American troops being sent to help the pro-Capitalist forces. The United States continued to provide aid and support for the Vietnamese forces that were anti-Communist because at the time it was the policy to prevent as many countries as possible from "turning red". In the early sixties it was considered popular and patriotic for a young man to enlist and go off to fight in Vietnam. My uncle who was a few years older than my dad was excited when he was sent to fight on the front lines in 1963. However, my the mid-sixties the patriotism that Americans felt toward the conflict quickly turned to outrage. Many families now had televisions and were able to see the carnage of the conflict on a nightly basis.

By the late sixties when my dad was in college he did not want to fight in the Vietnam War and many of his classmates were participating in rallies against it. My grandpa, on the other hand, had willing enlisted in the Navy the day he turned 19 and wanted my dad to do the same thing. My dad decided to enlist in the Air Force before he was drafted and sent to the front lines. Many college students across the country did not heed the word of their parents and held sit ins and protests against the war. The younger generation began to question things that were sacred up until this point, such as the ability of the president to lead the country. This dissent would travel into many different areas and have a large impact on American and world culture.

The music of the sixties is a testimony to the changes that were a foot in the United States during the sixties. My grandpa loved to listen to big band music and he still does up to this day. My dad and his brothers and sisters like the poppy music of the fifties when they were younger. However, it was the music they listened to in high school and afterwards that expressed the changes that were afoot. Up until 1964 the United States dictated the music trends of the world and the British listened to American pop bands. This all changed when the Beatles came on the scene with a type of poppy music that made girls fall to their knees. Also, they questioned authority and the status quo by growing their hair out into mop top styles, which were different than the crew cut styles many Americans wore. When the Beatles first played on the Ed Sullivan show all the girls wanted to date them and all the boy wanted to look like them. Other British bands also grew in popularity in the US in what came to be known as the British invasion.

After first the Beatles played poppy songs, but this changed when they started working on more experimental material such as the record Sergeant Pepper. The Beatles also released songs that pointed fun at war such as Revolution, which was something that the young people of the sixties completely identified with. Americans and the world community did not like the Vietnam War and wanted the US to pull out. American university students also began to question the war in Vietnam and looked to many of these bands as being their idols. At one time John Lennon said his band was more popular than Jesus Christ because they had sold so many records and were very popular worldwide. This statement angered many conservative Christians who felt that his statement was an affront to family values. Lennon continued to explore other religions after the Beatles disbanded in 1970, but what few people do not know is he actually recanted that statement and expressed an interest in Christianity towards the end of his life. Nevertheless, his comment about his popularity prompted many young people to question religion and pursue other forms of spirituality. Bands had a larger impact on the way people thought, and sometimes songs can even be misinterpreted.

The Moody Blues was a band that came to fame during the tail end of the British Invasion. The Moodies began touring and performing in the United States during the laste sixties, and many young people saw their ethereal lyrics as an answer to spirituality of the day. The Moody Blues did share in the feelings of the sixties and questioned the war in Vietnam, but they never said anything bad about anyone, which I guess is why I admire them so. These men truly kept the spirit of the sixties, which is about implementing good change without rolling over others.

What the Moodies found hilarious was that some groups thought that they were going to head a spaceship to take the inhabitiants of earth to another world, so the band decided to write a song I am Just a Singer In a Rocking Roll Band, which conveyed their desire only to be seen as musicians and not spiritual leaders.

The ideals of the sixties were quite unrealistic in that everyone hoped that we could have a more peaceful and gentle world. In the year 2008 we can thank the sixties for giving the people more freedom of speech and the rights to stand up to injustice, but when do the rights to express your opinion go to far? I think it is great that people express their opinion and stand up for what they believe in, but there is a point where people cross the line and begin to feel they have they have a license to trash each other in the news, books, blogs, and other medias. The sixties was about giving people more freedom to stand up for what is right, not to bulldoze over the rights and FEELINGS of others. As an observer of the world I love to sit back and just read, think, and watch before I say anything. One message I have for everyone is we need to keep the spirit of the sixties and not cross the line. We need to treat each other with respect and voice our differences in a kinder and gentler way. If you do not agree with someone think of two or good points in their argument before you address the bad stuff. If you have a problem with someone, go to them directly and do not write or say bad things about them behind their back. Lets get back to the good karma of the sixties and begin to say and think more positive things about each other. If you cannot say anything nice about someone, keep it to yourself because I am sure other people are thinking it and you do not need to verbalize it. If you do not like a political leader do not completely trash them and compare them to potty words your mom and your kindergarten teacher told you not to use. Use your civil liberties to campaign and vote for a politician that will bring change rather than dwelling on the negativities of the past. The world will become a better and more positive place when we use good karma to say and do positive things. Lets keep the spirit of the sixties and make it the reality of the future. The world is not perfect, but each of us as individuals can make decisions that will help to make it a better place when we are on earth.