Lsd Essay, Research Paper

UniversaL SolDier

The end of World War II brought a quiet peace across America. People were settling down and starting their own families. Traditional moral values of the past were being re-enforced in the minds of the young. The baby boom was at hand, and this new, highly populated generation of youth was supposed to take these values a step further. The only problem was the baby-boom generation didn t want to be like their parents. This mind-set had been forced upon them and now they began to question authority. They were prepared and determined to think for themselves. Turbulence was increasing and conflict was inevitable. The only thing missing was someone or something to unite this generation and guide them towards a future of their own. Martin Lee and Bruce Shlain s book Acid Dreams tells how drugs became this missing link that would change the country. The explosion of LSD and other psychedelic drugs in the 1960 s triggered a powerful nationwide counterculture movement that was gone before it came.

The emergence of acid and other drugs gave already radical people even more radical ideas. As the popularity and availability of drugs grew at a rapid pace, the hippie generation of the 1960 s multiplied. Everyone was looking for a way to get closer to God, and drugs did this for them. Poets, musicians, and political figures everywhere preached feelings of peace and love. Acid, mushrooms, and marijuana did something the real world couldn t. Even the most powerful man in the world, President John F. Kennedy, experimented with LSD. (Lee 85) Drugs pointed the counterculture in one unified direction, a path of change and reform of what they thought was a negative and repressive world. In The Doors drummer Ray Manzerarek s book Light My Fire, he tells of an acid trip he took with musician Jim Morrison that gave them these same wants for change and revolt:

Jim and I were headed to the rings and things. We were going to get ourselves in shape for the coming onslaught on traditional values, the revolution right around the corner. We were going to dip and swing and chin and climb ourselves into fine-tuned psychedelic warriors ready to do battle with the Philistines of the Establishment. (Manzarek 112)

The failing Vietnam War and other disturbing acts of violence, cruelty, and hate only gave people more inspiration to change something. Activist groups popped up everywhere, defending animals, fighting for racial equality, and protesting the war. Soon social gatherings involving speakers, musicians, and lots of dope were commonplace. Psychedelic drugs managed to unite and, simultaneously inspire a whole generation. Those inspired would continue to try and inspire others, including Jim Morrison and the Doors:

And you can be free, too. All you have to do is do it. We re waiting for you, and we very much hope someday you ll join us. And then we can begin the changing of the guard. The changing of the power structure. The dismantling of the military-government-industrial complex. We can begin the creation of the New Time and the New Man. And the New Garden. (Manzarek 124)

This unique community was immediately deemed obscene and out of control by their elders. They were thought of as outcasts whose minds had been corrupted by some evil force. Psychedelic drugs definitely did something to people s minds, as both groups were well aware, the argument was whether this was a good or a bad thing. Physical differences made peace harder to attain. Hippies wore far-out colorful clothes and were draped in flowers and beads, while the conservative citizens stuck with suits and skirts. They were loud and boisterous, often making a scene wherever they went. Communication between generations was getting harder and harder, as nobody seemed to be getting along. The respectable, law-abiding side wanted to see the hippies that had emerged quickly eradicated. They were sick of these people making a mockery of their country by burning flags and smoking dope. Authorities nationwide began to crack down on the chaos, passing laws that would drive the hippies out. Because the rest of America did not accept the generation of the 1960 s, it was destined not to last very long.

As drugs helped the hippie community as a whole, on an individual basis things were getting worse. Is seemed to good to be true, and it probably was. Drugs had become a way of life and it was showing. The once healthy, blooming, flower child was now withering into the ground. LSD was suspected to cause severe mental problems and other physical disorders as well. (Lee 69) The drugs didn t come free and promoting love and peace all day wasn t putting food on the table. The number of welfare families skyrocketed. Carefree sex had also taken its toll as well, as the amount of sexually transmitted diseases also grew. While many of the hippies managed to clean themselves up, others couldn t make it. People were turning to heavier drugs such as cocaine, heroin, and alcohol, not realizing or just not caring about the consequences. Falling one by one into the hole of addiction, with no chance of getting out, they turned to crime, prostitution, or anything else they could do to quench their appetite for a fix. Before long, the once overwhelming community of spiritual psychedelics was nothing more than a social group of burned out hippies. The drugs had created the whole thing and in the end they managed to ruin it as well.