Thursday, December 15, 2022

Counter Culture

 I could be wrong, but it seems like we've had a movement towards a counter culture in the US since the 1950's.   I think you could say that it started with the advent of rock music and the fact that parents didn't like it.  During the 50's it looked like the guy in a leather jacket, with a hot rod, and a cigarette.  During the 60's is looked like hippies, those who experimented with LSD, and who protested the Vietnam War.  In the 70's we saw the excesses of the disco scene, punk rock, and the emergence of the homosexual activists.   


What's interesting to me is that at some point in the 70's and 80's what had been the counter culture was morphing into the dominant culture. At some point in the 90's Hip Hop culture was briefly counter cultural, until culture simply absorbed it as well.  We started to see thousands of identically dressed people who all acted the same who really believed that they were non conformist and a counter culture.   They must have missed the point when the trappings of the counter culture had been turned into a fashion statement.


Fast forward to the 2020's and all of a sudden the counter culture looks like people who want to get married, live on a farm, home school their kids, and dress well.    It looks like young women who choose to dress modestly.  It looks like people deciding to choose not to live the drugs, sex, and Rock and Roll lifestyle.  

It's kind of refreshing to see a counter culture that doesn't involve destructive behavior. 

4 comments:

Marshal Art said...

The culture today is clearly corrupted by all the worst people. As you say, truly counter-culture in today's world is far closer to traditional standards of morality and character. I never so badly wanted to be seen as "square" as I do now.

Dan Trabue said...

Ummmm... not the counter culture. They're the retro-culture back to the "good old days" of racism and keeping women in the kitchen and gays in the closet. That's not so cool as actually being "counter culture." Just a sad throwback to old mainstream white male oppression.

Having said that, living on the farm off the grid has, for decades, been progressive and counter culture.

And yes, the old "counter culture" has done a good job of making it clear that being respectful to, and honoring the human rights of black people, women and LGBTQ folk is recognized as just basic decency, something conservatives and liberals should be able to agree upon. Huzzah for women, black people and the LGBTQ crowd.

Craig said...

Once again Dan steps in to tell everyone what's right and what's wrong, and to criticize people who make choices different from those he thinks are correct. How dare people choose not to participate in our current popular culture, by choosing something counter to that culture. How dare people think that they can live their own lives as they choose to. How dare people decide that monogamous, marriage between one man and one woman is what's best for them. How dare people choose to opt out of the public school system (while still paying for it) and make educational choices for their own children. It's almost like Dan doesn't want people to be able to choose.

I guess intolerance is OK when you're right. What's most amusing is that he's literally making my point, that people are living counter to the culture and Dan is willing to make all sorts of baseless allegations against these folks. But I guess of being "cool" is what's most important, then it's cool to go along with whatever the culture tells you to do.

Marshal Art said...

"They're the retro-culture back to the "good old days" of racism and keeping women in the kitchen and gays in the closet."

This is the typical lying crap we hear from "progressives" when a desire to return to better days is expressed. The desire always refers to traditional notions of morality, work ethics, a devotion to truth, and the like. It never refers to racism or misogyny, though asshats need to portray better people in that way.

Dan's proven he's a liar once again. "Huzzah" for honest people and the rebuke and marginalizing of liars like him.