I used a reference to the subject song in a thread yesterday as several lines seemed to fit the mood of the readers in that thread and the earlier one.  It seems like it struck a chord (pun intended) and it caused me to reflect on how misunderstood this song was/is.

As recently as a couple of weeks ago, The Seventies series on CNN used this song as part of their coverage of the anti-war movement.  It drives me nuts that they didn't do their research.

It was actually written as a result of the Sunset Strip Riots of 1966 which were a reaction to a police crackdown on young people hanging out in that area and causing problems.  The protest had nothing to do with war but was all about partying.  Two of the folks arrested were Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda before they joined forces in Easy Rider.  As an aside, I consider the Easy Rider soundtrack to be the greatest soundtrack of all time.