The Effect of the Baby-Boomer on the 21st Century

Ah, the Sixties! With the present world in turmoil over situations as diverse as war in Iraq, increasing gas prices and Paris Hilton's release from jail, we long for a return to those thrilling days of yesteryear. It was certainly a simpler, more relaxing era for most Americans... at least until mid-decade, when a remarkable group of youngsters that soon became known as "longhairs," "hippies" and "peaceniks" began appearing in American society. Considered "freaks" by many in the older, often stodgy and hawkish, generation, they believed in such absurd ideas like peace, love and equality. Sit-ins, peace rallies and even a Woodstock wouldn't change the opinions of the "establishment". But little did that generation know that the actions of these mid-1960s "freaks" would create a much better world for all of us here in the 21^st Century..

To prove the point, we have to go back in time for a quick history lesson. Now, we know the Beatles, the Byrds, Sonny and Cher, Righteous Brothers, Woodstock, Jimi, and a zillion other musical talents marked the landscape of those years. But who'd ever forget the great #1-with-a-bullet (or more) hit called VIETNAM? While the fighting and subsequent death toll seemed to escalate, there was no real strategy for lasting peace from either Washington or Saigon.

We were apprehensive about a foreign country having "the" bomb, and its apparent capacity to use it on us. Various parts of the country sweated through near-famine heat waves, and New York City went powerless at one point. Other areas were well-lit, but by fires started in the heat of racial violence and riots that seemed to be endless. Parents wrestled with their kids about the dangers of "experimenting" with various drugs, but it seemed as if they were turning a deaf ear. For many, the lure of the illegal street meds was just too strong.