Starflower
From Summer of Love to Love and Marriage
The 40th anniversary of the Summer of Love
At this time forty years ago, in San Francisco people from all walks of life were wearing flowers in their hair, dancing in the streets and embracing the Hippie ideals of love, peace and tolerance. It was the summer of 1967, the Summer of Love. Up to 100,000 people of all ages flocked to the district Haight-Ashbury, where a social utopia was being built. Free music, free food, free love and free drugs were a part of the experience. The utopia could not last and eventually the masses of Hippie pilgrims, gawking tourists and excessive drug use brought the Summer of Love to an end. Nevertheless, some of the ideals are still alive and have an effect on popular culture today. Modern lifestyles involving yoga, organic food and eco-friendly consumer goods hail back to that time, as well as increased tolerance and diversity in western societies.
Although today, most people value fulfilling relationships higher than free love, more diverse relationships are accepted and society is open to patchwork families, second marriages, mixed marriages and new-found love later in life. The Summer of Love successfully challenged conservative notions of acceptable relationships and we can see the results in the success stories at be2. As the Summer of Love celebrates its fortieth anniversary, make this your own summer of love with the help of be2!
