The counter culture demonstrations of 1968?

[Freakazoid]

I'm trying to understand the counter culture events of 1968. 1968 was the year of the greatest hippy demonstrations not just in America but also in France, Canada and many other countries. It was also the year in which there was most tension with the Communist nations (Tet offensive, incursions into South Korea, etc). Are these two things related. If so, which is cause and which is effect? Did the hippies embolden the communist countries to attack us or were the hippies frightened by communist aggression into trying to get the west to back off from the struggle?

 

[NoPlate]

The Communist aggression was the cause, the demonstrations were the effect. The primary driving force behind the demonstrations was the Vietnam War - in fact, I don't know of a single demonstration that wasn't directly a war protest. The war was very unpopular from a moral standpoint, but more important was the highly controversial military draft. Most protesters were subject to being drafted and sent to fight in a war they were convinced was wrong. Worse than supporting an "unjust" war, they faced being killed. It was this they were rebelling against. All else - the music, the drugs, the counter-culture, grew naturally out of their fear and hatred against being sent to fight.