"I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness,
starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the Negro
streets at dawn looking for an angry fix." This begins the poem
that would not only revolutionize literature, but also politics
and America as well. Allen Ginsberg, member of the small
literary circle known as the Beats, wrote his most famous poem,
"Howl," in 1956 to show his disdain for Cold War politics and
the state of the nation. Over the next few decades, he would
have a profound impact on the direction of America, and
eventually my life as well. I had never really considered myself
to be a nonconformist, at least not until I entered high school.
During my middle school years, I dressed and acted like my peers
and tried to fit in, although I began to feel different. I
became interested in the world at large, and social issues.
However, I quickly learned my peers did not care to hear my
opinions, so in an effort to be accepted, I kept my thoughts and
growing awareness to myself. At