1950s society imposed rigid rules upon kids (boomers) and teenagers (baby-busters). Rules, expectations, behavioral standards, clothing styles that had to be followed, lines that couldn’t be crossed, etc. A lot of kids didn’t quite realize how rigid and oppressive that culture was, but it gradually came to them.

James Gilbert. author of “Another Chance: America After World War II“: “The rules were imposed by your parents. Parents talked about it a lot. There were high school counselors who told you what the rules were. Obey authority. Don’t ask questions. If you mishebave, you aren’t normal. Control your emotions. Don’t ask why. Aspire to a kind of vegetative state. Even if they weren’t written down, everybody knew [them]. You could almost read them out, cite them. And looking back, what people did in the ’60s was break every damn one of them.”