How successful has history proved the Summer of Love was overall, or what it a flop?

Like any social movement, the Summer of Love had an influence on the people of that era. Many of us who are still alive have had our lives affected/changed, but for future generations, I doubt there is much to be said.

Young people today have no memory of not being allowed to wear what they want, when they want, or people being excluded from employment because of their religion or race.

Like the freedoms gained by the black people of the 1960’s, the current generation think it’s always been like this. They have no idea what sit in the back of the bus meant, or white only drinking fountains.

A bunch of baby boomers with too much time and their parents’ money on their hands.

And then, after they spent the Great Generation’s money, they borrowed more to keep the party going.

And they will go to their graves leaving nothing at all but the tab to the next generation.

Hard to take that seriously, in my opinion.

Considering that the current generation in power, on average, was spending it’s formative years in the “Summer Of Love”, not very.

We were on the right side of so many issues. Against Viet Nam. For Civil Rights, Women’s Rights, and only wrong on the issue of Drugs.

If your concerned about the deficit you might want to think about the “GREAT” enabler. Yes, Ronald Reagan was the one that pushed people to only give a shit about themselves.

And seriously. Get a blog. You didn’t really want to have a discussion here. You wanted a platform to spout your shit.

^Nah…...if I spout shit, which I wasn’t, it was only a question, I will do so here to irritate those who feel I spread shit and should get a blog! Bahahahaha

@johnpowell
What is wrong with giving a shit about yourself first?

You wanted a platform to spout your shit.

Wait, I thought that’s why we ALL come here.

I am actually going to take this question seriously. You need to establish success criteria for the question you have asked.

If you are talking about sexual freedom, total failure. Every generation since the baby boom has been afraid of aids and less likely to screw around so indiscriminately.

If you are talking about frank discussion about sexuality, ultimately a triumph. Ask any gay couple who has been recently married.

If you are talking about the Vietnam War, abject failure. 20 years later, this same generation would send their children to Iraq under false pretenses, lower their own taxes, and give the bill for the whole thing to their children, in an announced move to not impact their own lives negatively at all.

So you are really going to have to ask them what they were trying to achieve, and then we can talk about what actually happened.

It wasn’t a movement, it was a party in a specific place for a short amount of time.

While the hippies in the Haight were getting high in Golden Gate Park, there were race riots in Detroit, a war in Israel. A few blocks away from Haight Ashbury, there was a massive anti war protest in Kezar stadium.

The most memorable thing from the Summer of Love? Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was the soundtrack.

Well..I know I am thrilled to be a boomer that was influenced by the eras of the 60’s and early to mid-70’s.
The boomer generation were pioneers and bold leaders into many uncharted territories. Long live the summer of love and all the great forward movements of those eras.
Successful is not the word…pioneering is!

Some of us learned a lot & many generations will continue. For me, it’s not accepting the unacceptable.

@Imadethisupwithnoforethought You need to establish success criteria for the question you have asked.
In a nut shell, did the utopian society they had hoped to usher in come, or stick if it came? Things like free medical for all, acceptance of anyone from any income bracket, not being gadget heads spending money they can’t afford to buy things they don’t need to impress people they don’t know, IE, sharing and caring more and spending less in the gist of consumerism, etc.

Thank you for taking it as a serious question, pity many others won’t follow your example.

@zenvelo The most memorable thing from the Summer of Love? Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was the soundtrack.
It wasn’t that song about flowers in your hair, or something by the Mamas and the Papas, I believe?

@Hypocrisy_Central You left out gender equality. It was an entirely new concept for some.

I’m definitely a product of the sixties and seventies. “The Summer of Love” was one year, not a generation.

I was pretty young when I was first influenced by the civil rights movement and learned on my own what life was really like for some people and I supported them. I believe that was the catalyst for the direction my life’s philosophies would take. I am still anti-war, still green, still worried about the loss of freedoms women had won through activism and involvement.

I am who I am and not a Cold War product, because of that era and I’m proud to be a strong
supporter of the social contract.

The music was just the sound of change.