The Beatles and the concept of Free Love

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Long Road To Peace

When someone hears the word “hippie” they are most likely to think of the scene in Forrest Gump or even the groupies that followed The Beatles on hand and foot. Hippie culture is much more than that. Some aspects of this sub-rebellious culture are the concept of free love- you know, that bumper sticker that reads “make love not war”? That would be a relic of the 1960-1970’s. The hippie lifestyle was uncanny to older generations- this created the phenomenon of the “generation gap” (Feinstein). Younger people, early to mid 20’s, started to pursue the “counterculture” of using marijuana and LSD to free their minds and be closer to nature. Typically, the tradition hippie attire was ripped up blue, bell bottom jeans, with tie-dyed shirts, long hair and headbands. Communal living was a lesser known part of the culture. Young hippies who desired to “get in touch with nature” moved to rural communities were other hippies resided. They felt that this area would provide them with a more natural lifestyle- mellow (Feinstein). What followed the seemingly small culture, was a...

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