Freedom of Speech in the Cultural Revolution America in the ’60s And 70’s
“The Counterculture that was established within the United States along with the late 1960s, that lasted to a period approximated from 1964 and 1972, which coincided with America’s involvement in Vietnam. The youths involved in the Cultural Revolution disagreed with and rejected the cultural standards of their parents, mainly regarding racial segregation, materialism, women’s rights, the Vietnam War, and the sexual mores. The revolution saw the country divide into. Under the reflection of some of the Americans on ideals of free speech world peace as well as equality, others view reflected on self-indulgent or unpatriotic assault of America’s moral setting.
Ideals and interests
Communitarian experiments, sexual liberation, unconventional appearance, drugs, and music were the distinguishing characteristics that defined the Cultural Revolution, with most of the members comprising of the young Americans, whites, and the middle class. The hippies developed the largest group of Cultural Revolution within the United States, reaching its peak during 1967, known as the summer love where youth protested in Haight-Ashbury (Braunstein). The lifestyle of the counterculture group developed an interest in most of the ideals at the time as the best way of expression of ideas on peace, harmony, love even mysticism. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
Establishment of the underground press
Underground newspaper in the United States described an independent publication that was developed and focused on the unpopular themes as well as the counter-revolution aspects. The introduction of the newspaper swept the country by giving a platform where the revolutionists were able to present their ideas and views about the operations of the government, such as the Vietnam War and radical political opposition developing the essence of the cultural revolution (Braunstein). For instance, the first publication on the underground was the main impact on the Cultural Revolution since it represented the participation towards democracy, community organization, and the synthesization of culture and politics that the revolutionists were in the forefront trying to develop.
Underground papers within the military
Within the U.S. military, there was the development of the underground press network, producing articles concerning the Vietnam War. The documents that were produced comprised of information and incited that mainly supported the civilian anti-war activists towards protesting against the government involvement in the Vietnam War, which according to the soldiers under the support of the Cultural Revolution, were against the war the government forced them to involve themselves (Kimball).
The Beat generation and the influence on the western culture
The beat generation had manifested influence with the culture of the west, which in turn persuaded the rise of sexual revolution, censorship, as well as a demystification of cannabis and music evolution of the rock and roll. The ideologies and cultures that we’re intrigued by the generation were led to by the studies and interactions that the united states students acquired from other nations which influenced them towards the opposition of the government operations which they classified as outdated and against humanity thus their active participation in the antiwar movement (Gair).
The impact of the revolutionary movement can be felt up to present laying the foundation of expression where the citizen’s views and ideologies were given the priority by the government and other state organs reducing the dictatorship leadership that challenged the middle-level citizens who were exempted from the government decisions. The history left by the revolution has up to date influenced the decision criteria that are used by the United States in its leadership style”.
References
Braunstein, Peter, and Michael William Doyle, eds. Imagine Nation: The American Counterculture of the 1960s and’70s. Psychology Press, 2002.
Kimball, Roger. The long march: How the cultural revolution of the 1960s changed America. ReadHowYouWant. Com, 2010.
Gair, Christopher. American Counterculture. Edinburgh University Press, 2007.