I woke up this morning thinking about the ideals of the 1960s. How did we descend from an era of promoting love not war into a society overwhelmed by violence? Or it seems we are a violent society because the media hounds us with all the horror going on in the world.
I was young during the 60s so I wasn’t actually a part of the revolution. However, that decade played a huge, dramatic part in our culture. It was a time of awakening, of people finding their voices and uniting to bring freedom and awakening to the world. It was a magical time.
But what happened? The decade passed and it was like once that big hurdle was crossed, it all died away. All the passion and peace and love just dissolved as time went on. Those revolutionists of the 60s worked hard for a belief. They made tremendous strides, but the generation coming up behind them didn’t continue the work. The plateau was reached and instead of pushing higher, the momentum shifted – but what it shifted into, I don’t know.
Did the old hippies grow up and become the “establishment” they earlier despised? Once the musicians of the 60s earned fame, did their goals change as they became more business-minded? Did they become ruled by the music industry and lose their passion for changing the world? And yes, when people grow older they want to settle back and relax.
They young people coming up behind them didn’t fully understand what the adults before them went through and accomplished. Big business got bigger. The media turned more to promoting big business and the issues that so inspired the previous generation were written off. The government made a few changes and people felt an accomplishment was made.
Apathy set in. What was hard-fought was abandoned. People turned from peace and love to… I don’t even know. The music that so changed the world… died. That’s not saying there isn’t good music now, but something is lost. It’s like we’ve slipped backwards.
Technology and big business took over, too, as people became wired in to the internet and social media. Cell phones and iPads have taken away people’s identities and causes. People are looking down instead of looking out and forward. Humanity has given way to robotics and machines.
Technology has put a leash on people. People are controlled. This is a generation where people isolate themselves physically from others as they become so entrapped by electronic devices… until something in them snaps and they do something horrible.
So, what does all this mean?
Even some of the music has an electro-techno background; an unnatural beat designed to pump people up (supposedly for dance), but that kind of beat is also hypnotic, a brain-washing tool making people further succumb to numbness. People are losing the ability to think positively, to think for themselves, for the good of all things. And they don’t even realize it. (Well, most don’t.)
Think about it. Think about what the media feeds us. Think about what some of the music is telling us… Is that what we really want for ourselves? Do we want to be mind-numbed and controlled? That’s what’s happening on many levels.
The 60s served a purpose. People came together and were awakened. It wasn’t perfect (drugs are never the answer and is also a means of controlling people no matter the generation). People need to start waking up again. It’s time to start saying NO! again. Violence is not the answer. What’s going on now-a-days is horrendous. WE are human beings.
Let’s bring compassion, peace, and love back into our lives! Say no to violence. Say no to control. Say no to media brainwashing.
Side note: This is such a huge subject which I am only barely touching. People need to start waking up again.
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