Wednesday, April 15, 2009

In your opinion, how did the Vietnam War affect the formation of a "Hippie" counterculture movement in Canada? I've already come up with two solid...

You have already formed two very strong main ideas for your essay. Good work! As a third point, I think it is worth mentioning that Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, elected in 1968 (the year this counterculture movement exploded into the mainstream in the United States), had a significant impact on  the spread of this counter-culture movement throughout Canada. He had a youthful demeanor, wore unusual and eye-catching clothing (a strong visual identifier of the hippie movement), and was interested in social justice. He also met with John Lennon and Yoko Ono, two celebrities whose iconic presence were synonymous with the movement (especially Lennon's anti-war songs like "Give Peace a Chance.")


Trudeau himself was not a hippie, but his image and stance on many issues made him a comforting presence for those already attracted to this movement, and made them feel they could follow this path of expression and possibly trust their prime minister to act on their own idealistic views regarding the war. It did not turn out that way at the time, but many believe that Trudeau's leadership did make it possible for later generations to embrace counterculture ideals connected to social change. He ended up serving two terms in office (though not consecutively), and his son Justin, also a youthful and charismatic presence, is now serving as Canada's prime minister, and already displaying a tendency to embrace important social issues, and shows a liberal stance on many issues that first became of widespread importance during his father's term in office, such as abortion and marijuana legalization.

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