Having been a Deadhead since the late 60s in the SF Bay Area, and to even this day, I think I turned out just fine. Remember, us Hippies just wanted to be left alone by the government. No government intrusion into our lives. We just wanted to do our thing, whatever that “thing” might be. Some of course do not and did not value freedom and ended up where they are today.
I am just one of those pony tailed, tie dye wearing paleo-conservatives. Chew on that one for a while....oh and I am a vet to boot! A Tread-Head from the 3rd, AD Pearhead Division...
It is ironic that the 60s generation would, in their old age, be the very antithesis of that. Who knew that the liberals of the 1960s would end up being all about big intrusive government, censoring free speech, controlling the media and hating everything about freedom.
I'm talking collectively of course, not about you individually.
An aside - I went with my daughter to a John Mayer concert last year to The Gorge in Washington state. I had never heard of him, but he was really good and it was a great concert.
Parts of it you could tell that they were just jamming up there - him and a bunch of other folks. REALLY good, just amazing how a bunch of folks can just jam - and the other people were just as good or better.
I mentioned to my daughter how good they were - and amazing that as good as they are - nobody knows who they are, just a bunch of “extras”.
I googled him later on after the concert to see who the other band mates were. Turns out it was “Dead & Company” - former members of the Grateful Dead! I was never into them, but obviously know what they were about. I mentioned this to my daughter - “I knew those guys were good!!”
My first Dead concert in San Diego in 1968 was in a smaller indoor arena, not the Sports Arena, closer to downtown. It held maybe 5,000 and more than half of us were active duty sailors and Marines.