It could be said that the mass counterculture movement ended in the time period 1970-1973 due to various factors.
1. Vietnam War winding down – protesting of the war was some of the glue that held the movement together.
2. Drug burnout – those hippies whose path involved substance use often descended into harder drugs and alcohol, both of which can limit the ability to think and function in the creative manner common to the earlier beats and hippies.
3. Growing up – moving on – By 1972, hippies had achieved many of their initial goals of “Turn on, tune in, drop out” – now it was time for them to move on and prove, in real life, that their ideals may work. The 1970’s, therefore, became a time where the Baby Boomers took various paths to start their families and careers.
The most successful commune in US History, The Farm, started in the early 1970’s as a way to bring ideals of the counterculture into work and practice. The 1970’s also saw the birth and rebirth of various religious and spiritual movements including Eastern Religions such as Buddhism. Many cults and other such groups (EST, etc.) also formed during this period.
4. Mainstreaming – Many baby boomers decided they were not, after all, hippies…and decided to join the mainstream culture or further pursue of a career. Many carried some of the ideals of the 1960’s forward by choosing vocations in social services, medicine or other “right livelihood occupations.
I joind the military (US Navy) in July of 1973. I was prepared to go to war, but Richard Milhouse Nixon decided to stop sending more of us to South Vietnam. Prepared to support our pilots until our part in the great conflict had concluded, . I stood by our original commitment in 1955.We signed a treaty to defend the South Vietnamese people, and we did.
In 1985, four North Vietnamese generals came forward and openly state that had we fought for four more weeks, the Peoples Republeic of North Vietnam was prepared to surrender unconditionally to the United States.
The worthless “hippies” destroyes our nations resolve. This ultimately resulted in the death of over six milloin people that opposed Communist rule in Cambodia. Ever hear of “the killing fields”? I hope you are satisfied.
A proud sailor