Did Woodstock Matter?

Woodstock was in one important way, a radical counterexample to the basic tenets of Western Christian Morality. The assumption of that morality is that if people relax, follow their desires, and do what they like, there would be chaos. This is why sex and sin have always been linked together. What happened at Woodstock is that people had sex, did drugs, took off their clothes, did no productive work --and things turned out OK. Nobody got hurt, and people exhibited all the most important Christian virtues--kindness, generosity, patience--without being nasty and self righteous. This was scary to some people and exhilarating to others. John Calvin would have turned over in his grave, if he'd known.

Since then, of course, this kind of abandon and license has proved to be unsustainable. But for a few shining moments, it seemed that Rousseau was right--that if people just did what came naturally they would be good, and that traditional moral rules actually got in the way of goodness. Like all half-truths, this idea can be dangerous. But let us not be so sure that we are completely certain which half is true at this point in history.