Anyone wanting to understand the American zeitgeist from the 1960s to the end of the 20th century must read Tom Wolfe and Hunter S. Thompson. They'll tell you everything you need to know.

Or, as he was known to the Black Panthers -

“You mean that dirty, blatant, lying, racist dog who wrote that fascist disgusting thing in New York magazine?”

@2: Harsh words, but Wolfe has been proven essentially correct in his statement that both white guilt and agitation from armchair-reclining limousine liberals are considered very fashionable. Look around you.

Hell, even that response was prophetic: the knee-jerk accusation of racism and fascism without any actual engagement or understanding of the ideas presented.