The year was 1968, the draft was in effect, and nobody wanted to be a part of it. Many young adults felt that the government was going to take over their lives, so they "...adopted a lifestyle that embraced personal freedom while rejecting the ethics of capitalism, conformity, and repressive sexual mores" (Gustainis). These people were called hippies. Even those who weren't becoming hippies, did not want to be drafted. My grandfather was one of those teenagers. I interviewed my grandfather to find out more about his time living in a hippie-dominated country. He was only in the war for one year, so it was far more important to learn what society was like from a point of view that not many people his age had in that day. This research paper will focus on that view, opening up a new perspective of the counterculture movement, that shows the 1960s wasn't all sex, drugs, and rock and roll.
Photo of youth protesting the war in 1968. Source: "Anti-Vietnam"The war had been going on for quite some time before he went in. The Vietnam war is one of the longest wars ever, lasting over 20 years from 1954-1975 (Brigham). One of the first interview questions that I asked him was: "What do you believe caused the hippy movement to occur?" He only had two words to say: "The war" (Wetzel, Personal). He was one of the few people that was for the war, he supported every choice that America had made. I was curious as to what kind of life he led if he didn't lead a hippy one.
I asked him what type of music he listened to. The first response: Bob Dylan. Dylan was never really a supporter of the counterculture movement, so it made perfect sense. Then, suddenly, he went on to say that he also listened to Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was an avid supporter of the movement, he even played at Woodstock. I told him that the hippies enjoyed Hendrix to which he replied: "It was just good music, I didn't agree with it. By no means did it reflect my opinion" (Wetzel, Personal).
GOING IN...
Before heading into the war, the counterculture movement was sweeping the nation. My grandfather didn't want to be any part of that. He distinctly remembers his first impression of the hippies: "Well, I just thought it was kinda weird. But, you know, they didn't bother me and I didn't bother them" (Wetzel, Personal). From the interview, it was clear that he had no concept of the hippies whatsoever. He very weirdly proclaimed that, "It must have just been the drugs that caused them to revolt. I don't know, just a guess" (Wetzel, Personal). One thing he was sure of was that the war started the whole thing and he's right about that. The Vietnam war had "convinced many young people that America had lost its soul" (Gustainis).
As a result of this, throughout the war, many people revolted, because war is considered a dehumanizing experience. The counterculture movement was all about being human, doing whatever they wanted. In fact, as time went on, more and more became opposed to the war until more than 60 percent of Americans were fed up with it. (see fig. 1) At first, "in 1965 American involvement in Vietnam was still limited, so most Americans ignored the protest and the protesters" (Morello). Of course, peace can never be kept for too long, because "as the level of U.S. involvement increased in terms of both money and manpower, the size and intensity of the antiwar movement kept pace" (Morello).
Fig. 1. "Growing Opposition to the War" Source: "Graph"
Fig. 1. "Growing Opposition to the War" Source: "Graph"
My grandfather and other soldiers during basic training in 1968. Source: Wetzel, John
GETTING OUT...
My grandfather left the war one year later. Why? He himself doesn't even really know what allowed him to be discharged so early. However, the work of the antiwar movement might explain a bit why. When "in 1968...battlefield reversals in Vietnam ignited a shift in popular support away from the war and toward an effort to bring the troops home" (Morello). To me, it seems like my grandfather has the hippies to thank for his homecoming. Without them, the government might not have ever let anyone go before the war was totally over. My grandfather thinks otherwise.
"When I came back from Vietnam, and I was sitting in the airport in California, you could see the difference in the people. I mean, the hippies with the long hair and the weird clothes" (Wetzel, Personal). That was how he began to tell me about his experiences when he came back home. I wondered, did he not notice the hippies before the war? Or was there just a drastic increase? I tried to ask, but he continued on..."And they would give you dirty looks. They'd look at you like you were the scum of the Earth" (Wetzel, Personal). There was so much anger in his voice.
They were the ones that helped him out of the war and now they were treating him like crap. I asked him if he had just imagined the glares. He rebutted this thought almost instantly, claiming that "they physically pushed me and some of the other soldiers" (Wetzel, Personal). I told him I had hard time believing that. I couldn't imagine people who believed in so much love and peace could be that way. Despite all my arguments supporting the hippies, he held true to his story. When it happened to him, he was just as surprised. He doesn't blame all the hate he received on hippies, he blames it on the drugs.
HIS DEPRESSION
To be honest, currently my grandfather is a pretty lonely man. Whenever I do get a chance to speak to him, he often seems unhappy. His story from the 1960s is not a happy one either, so it was really important to ask what he likes more: then or now? He says wholeheartedly "Back then. Don't get me wrong, we of course had responsibilities, but everything was so much easier" (Wetzel, Personal). Is he just saying this because he doesn't understand all of the gizmo gadgets that are available or does he simply just enjoy a rather simple life style?
I talked to him about how a lot of teenagers wished they lived in the 60's. And he questioned it. I reminded him that he literally just told me that he preferred the 60's compared to now. His only response was: "Maybe kids today wanna go back to being that care free" (Wetzel, Personal). By the end of our interview, he is acting like the 1960's was all fun and games, contrary to all the hardships we talked about before. He continued on, "that's gotta be it, the hippies had it easy, no worries, just all fun" (Wetzel, Personal). That was said with so much jealousy. My grandfather, the man who once hated the counterculture movement, now wants to go back in time and be a part of it. He just doesn't realize it.
My grandfather, John Wetzel in 2010. Source: Wetzel, John
My grandfather left the war one year later. Why? He himself doesn't even really know what allowed him to be discharged so early. However, the work of the antiwar movement might explain a bit why. When "in 1968...battlefield reversals in Vietnam ignited a shift in popular support away from the war and toward an effort to bring the troops home" (Morello). To me, it seems like my grandfather has the hippies to thank for his homecoming. Without them, the government might not have ever let anyone go before the war was totally over. My grandfather thinks otherwise.
"When I came back from Vietnam, and I was sitting in the airport in California, you could see the difference in the people. I mean, the hippies with the long hair and the weird clothes" (Wetzel, Personal). That was how he began to tell me about his experiences when he came back home. I wondered, did he not notice the hippies before the war? Or was there just a drastic increase? I tried to ask, but he continued on..."And they would give you dirty looks. They'd look at you like you were the scum of the Earth" (Wetzel, Personal). There was so much anger in his voice.
They were the ones that helped him out of the war and now they were treating him like crap. I asked him if he had just imagined the glares. He rebutted this thought almost instantly, claiming that "they physically pushed me and some of the other soldiers" (Wetzel, Personal). I told him I had hard time believing that. I couldn't imagine people who believed in so much love and peace could be that way. Despite all my arguments supporting the hippies, he held true to his story. When it happened to him, he was just as surprised. He doesn't blame all the hate he received on hippies, he blames it on the drugs.
HIS DEPRESSION
To be honest, currently my grandfather is a pretty lonely man. Whenever I do get a chance to speak to him, he often seems unhappy. His story from the 1960s is not a happy one either, so it was really important to ask what he likes more: then or now? He says wholeheartedly "Back then. Don't get me wrong, we of course had responsibilities, but everything was so much easier" (Wetzel, Personal). Is he just saying this because he doesn't understand all of the gizmo gadgets that are available or does he simply just enjoy a rather simple life style?
I talked to him about how a lot of teenagers wished they lived in the 60's. And he questioned it. I reminded him that he literally just told me that he preferred the 60's compared to now. His only response was: "Maybe kids today wanna go back to being that care free" (Wetzel, Personal). By the end of our interview, he is acting like the 1960's was all fun and games, contrary to all the hardships we talked about before. He continued on, "that's gotta be it, the hippies had it easy, no worries, just all fun" (Wetzel, Personal). That was said with so much jealousy. My grandfather, the man who once hated the counterculture movement, now wants to go back in time and be a part of it. He just doesn't realize it.
My grandfather, John Wetzel in 2010. Source: Wetzel, JohnWorks Cited
Gustainis, J. Justin. "Counterculture." Dictionary of American History. Ed. Stanley I. Kutler. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2003. 433. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 3 May 2011. "Anti-Vietnam War protesters,1968." History Resource Center: U.S.. Detroit: Gale, 2011. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 8 May 2011.
"Graph measuring Growing Opposition to the Vietnam War, 1965-1973." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 8 May 2011.
Morello, John. "Antiwar Movement." Americans at War. Ed. John P. Resch. Vol. 4: 1946-Present. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 6-8. Gale U.S. History In Context. Web. 8 May 2011.
Brigham, Robert. "The Vietnam War: An Overview." The Wars for Vietnam. Vassar College, n.d. Web. 16 May 2011.
Brigham, Robert. "The Vietnam War: An Overview." The Wars for Vietnam. Vassar College, n.d. Web. 16 May 2011.
Wetzel, John. Personal interview. 2 May 2011.
Hyperlink: Good!
ReplyDeleteIntro:: Begins rather abruptly; try to find a more reader-friendly way to get the paper going.
Thesis: Need a better working thesis.
Embedded image: Excellent!
Works Cited: Almost perfect! Just remove the periods after the word "May" since it is not an abbreviation.
Looks like this hasn't been changed much, if at all, from the oral presentation version. Remember, the final version has additional requirements-- 4 text sections plus the intro; captions for embedded images must include the SOURCE, and those sources must be listed in the bibliography; a link to your interview questions, etc.
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