Key members of what would later be known as the beat generation, including Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and Neal Cassady, met a
t Columbia University in the mid-1940s. From the beginning, youthful rebellion was a basic element of the beat movement. . . . The beat movement had strong ties to San Francisco, which became a center of the counterculture. Like the beats, some members of the counterculture were politically active, and some simply “dropped out.” Ginsberg, through his antiwar activities and spiritual quests, remained a hero to both wings of the counterculture. Based on this passage and what you have learned about the beat movement and the Vietnam era, why is Ginsberg thought of as "a hero to both wings of the counterculture"? He changed his mind about US conformity after he became political in the 1960s. He dropped out of mainstream in the 1960s after his heyday with the beats in the 1950s. He knew Kerouac and Cassady, who were connected with San Francisco counterculture. He connected to both the beat generation rebellion and anti-Vietnam War activities.
Explanation: Based on this passage and what we have learned about the beat movement and the Vietnam Era, Ginsberg is thought of as "a hero to both wings of the counterculture", because <em><u>he connected to both the beat generation rebellion and anti-Vietnam War activities</u></em>. Through poetry, he encouraged the break with traditional values and fought for a more open society. He coined the phrase "flower power", to embrace non-violent rebellions.
