Changes in Values Between Youth of the 1960s and the 1990s

It appears that the youth since the late 1960s have become more conservative in their moral values than their parents perhaps were. At the end of the Vietnam War, the youth movement exercised free sexuality, drug use and was very anti-establishment. However, since it is a natural occurrence for adolescents to repel against their parents ideology, it seems that more youth are more conservative than their parents.

For instance, adolescents still view family values as very important. Studies have shown that the majority of teenagers still hold that raising a family is very important. They view self-expression and fulfilling oneself as vitally important. It is interesting how these traits have been carried over from their parent's generation. The 1960s teenagers fought very hard to express themselves, and it is very important that people do not become complacent to the right of self expression.

Being in the navy I see a lot of the 'blue collar revolution' in the enlisted ranks. The majority of people I would consider to be blue collared are from the south or the mid west. These are working class people that would never say anything bad about the Republican Party, Christian ethics, or working white middle class people. A common interesting discussion I find myself having with people I consider blue collared is nationality in America. Many people do not understand or are insulted when someone classifies themselves as 'Italian-American' or 'Afro-American'. They have never been exposed to the racial diversity in this country and do not understand the differences in people nationalities and households. Their belief in one American 'race' is actually a form of moral evolution. They have been raised by parents and grandparents who grew up in 'Jim Crow' south and therefore discriminated on the basis of race. Just wanting a pure American race is still reminiscent of the early 1900 Klan movement and the Aryan movement. However, I don't believe the people I know take it to a level of hatred, they just question why.