The human race was dying out
No one left to scream and shout
People walking on the moon
Smog will get you pretty soon
Ev'ryone was hangin' out
Hangin' up and hangin' down
Hangin' in and holdin' fast
hope our little world will last
Along came Mister Goodtrips
Looking for a new ship
Come on people, climb on board
Come on baby, now we're going home
Ship of fools
Ship of fools
The human race was dying out
No one left to scream and shout
People walking on the moon
Smog gonna get you pretty soon
Ship of fools
Ship of fools
Ship of fools
Ship of fools
Ship of fools
Ship of fools
Ship of fools
Yeah, climb on board
Ship's gonna leave y'all behind
Climb on board
Ship of fools
Ship of fools
--Jim Morrison, The Doors (Sugerman 136)
When the soldiers returned from WWII, they returned to a country that was flourishing again.
The Great Depression had finally come to an end, and the economy was back where it should be. 'Leave it to Beaver' may have been somewhat stereotypical, but it still remains a fairly accurate portrayal of the average life in the post-war decade. Plenty of jobs for the men, and plenty of housework for the women. Life was easy, so people did what they did best, they reproduced. Because of the medical and technological breakthroughs, the infant mortality rate was greatly reduced, thus creating a 'boom' of babies, aptly called the 'baby boom.' This generation had one of the largest populations of any generation, ever. And, in the 1960s, This generation reached adolescence, and began adulthood, becoming the 'Hippie' generation, one of the most historical, and the most influential of any generation on society.
In the slang of the time, hip meant wise, or...