I think it's clear that there is a dominant culture in the United States, one of consumption and competition, with a strong history of puritanical influence in our way of thinking; everything from how we view and treat 'others', to how we feel about our own actions.

The other clear thing to me, is that enough people find the dominant culture so objectionable that they are inclined to form other cultures, even when there are massive social barriers to doing so.

I think that one positive change, and this seems to be what TFA was really trying to say, is that it has become somewhat less punitive to seek out these other cultures and join them, largely because of our digital connections.

One thing I have found valuable in thinking about our culture, is living outside of it for a while. Experiencing another dominant culture and trying to gel with it gave me a lot of perspective on both how systems we take for granted can be different and work just fine, and on how hard it is for foreigners in our country to just exist here.

So yeah, I think counter-culture is alive and well, perhaps a bit too easy to access, but that's for the most part a good thing.