Why were things so chaotic in the 50-70s?

Actually I consider it a privilege to have been in college in the late 60s as part of the movement for change in the United States. The baby-boom generation was learning that it controlled a lot of power simply through it's large demographic group. It was a time of great freedom and change with a lot of optimism about the future. Some of the greatest rock music and movies ever created occurred in that time period and have held up over the test of time. Yes there were drugs, wars, and social unrest. Why is that any different than right now? There's actually more chaos and unrest in the world right now and it is on a global basis.