A recent book by Tom O'Neill titled "CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties" exposes the links between Manson and the CIA's MKUltra program, specifically an operation called "Mass Conversion" which was a study in group behavioral psychology. Presumably, it was this study which led to the formation of the Manson Family Cult.

Charles Manson claimed to have used "music" to get the kids to join his commune. But it was a combination of intense psychological conditioning, LSD, and endless repetition of the Beatle's song, Helter Skelter, by which he effectively brainwashed otherwise normal adults into cold blooded killers. The Manson family members were subjected to "Unity" and "Solipsism" ideology, such as the idea that life and death do not exist, as we are all simply a dream of a larger organism experienced subjectively. In this way, Manson dissolved their moral barriers and removed the consequences of murder and death.

The "Helter Skelter" theory of Manson's motive claims that Manson had wanted to begin a Race War. However, O'Neill's book uncovers the possibility of a more sinister motive, one initiated by the American government to demonize LSD and hippies while simultaneously invoking fear among communities of color. By tasking Manson with brainwashing these hippies into a group of racist murderers, on drugs and "hypnotized" by Beatle's songs, they could steer public opinion of the counterculture.

In the 1960s The Beatles were under CIA and FBI surveillance under Operation Chaos and Operation COINTELPRO. The same operations were used on a number of influential figures involved in the counterculture, including Martin Luther King Jr. The Beatles split up and took different paths. John Lennon took a path of political activism. In the song "Imagine", he advocates a world without borders, government, religion or war.

President Nixon hated John Lennon due to his public criticism of the Vietnam War and his expansive influence over American youth, and was indeed conducting illegal surveillance on him at the time, at one point even recruiting Elvis Presley to spy on him. Lennon stood for everything Nixon hated, from LSD to racial equality. Numerous attempts by the government backed media were made to discredit and smear Lennon. At one point, John Lennon carelessly stated that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus", a statement he claims came from a British newspaper which he was quoting. The resulting outrage from the American right was fierce, resulting in many threats on Lennon's life by the KKK and others.

In 1980, Lennon was fatally shot by Mark David Chapman outside his apartment in NYC. Chapman shot Lennon in the back 5 times, then calmly took a seat on the sidewalk and began reading the book "The Catcher in the Rye" until police arrived. According to the official narrative, Chapman was angry at Lennon over the Jesus comment. However, many people were suspicious due to the large number of politically driven assassinations at the time. The counternarrative involved a "Manchurian Candidate" assassination, triggered in the unsuspecting Chapman by a phrase in Catcher in the Rye.

Lennon's death triggered an outpouring of public grief comparable to that of MLK Jr. and JFK, and many felt it was the end of an era. In the 80s, Nixon's policies would pave the way for President Reagan to strengthen drug laws and create a for-profit prison system, which lined the pockets of many affluent members of society while simultaneously disenfranchising poor, black communities. As a result, racial tension in America continued to simmer. The LA riots in 1992 marked a boiling point, one that has continued to boil over for decades, even up to the BLM riots of 2020.

If the counterculture had succeeded in reforming the American war machine, or if racial equality was embraced, rather than roadblocked by the American government, would we still be seeing the riots and racial tension presence today? If the counternarrative is true, then it would seem that Charles Manson and John Lennon could be viewed as if they existed on a pendulum. On one side, Manson, being used to indoctrinate hippies into inciting a Race War through murder and violence. On the other, John Lennon influencing the same counterculture kids to reject American democracy altogether and accept communist ideologies under the guise of "peace and love".

Charles Manson, though long dead, lives on through his "Race War" ideology, which has been embraced by Neo-Nazis, particularly the violent extremist group Atomwaffen Division, which is set on destroying society in order to take back control and enforce the establishment of a white ethno-state. On the other end, ANTIFA activists attempt to thwart them with even more violence and chaos.

This tug-of-war effect is a common theme of American politics, and one which keeps us all hanging in the balance, searching desperately for middle ground. Can it be fixed?