Beat Movement Philosophy

Most of you have heard of the Beat Movement, or should have at least, which is a literary movement whose roots lie in the post-war 1950's. In a time of monotony, regularity, and conventional thinking, a group of poets, writers, outcasts, and free-thinkers, all being intellectuals decided to break free from the norms of society and to write about their experiences in their alternate style of living. The Beat Movement and it's philosophy often gets a bad rap from the uneducated because it is notorious for, and in a way synonymous, with heavy drug usage, irresponsibility, and well "testing moral limits". This view often detracts from the true genius and motivation behind the movement. It is about freedom and breaking free from the monotony of a life already transcribed for you; about experience and experiment; about testing the limits and throwing caution to the wind in order to gain a fuller experience and perhaps understanding of life. It is about poetry and novels and sharing what you have learned and what you have done in order to inspire others and provide an opportunity to be free and to make choices that are not preordained by the social standard. The writing is brilliant and eloquent and the lifestyle is enchanting and inspirational. I guess I would like to have the opportunity to delve deeper into what it means to be "beat" and be able to get credit for it.