Hippies- the World Needs us Now More than Ever

All you need is love
What the world needs now is love, sweet love
Peace, love, and happiness
So many of the themes of the do-called flower child era revolve around loving your fellow man and helping your brothers and sisters. This, to me, is the core of the hippie belief system.
All the problems we're having today boil down to a lack of empathy for others (and sometimes for yourself). In these tumultuous times we're going through, it's more important than ever to let your love flow. I know we can't make other people care, but if everyone can touch one person and start to make a change, just think how many people could be affected!
I think this is especially important with young people, as they are so impressionable. Kids today could really benefit from a counterculture movement; something to push back against the rampant consumerism and staunch conformity. But also to show them the way! Teach them to care for their brothers and sisters. As the song goes, Teach your children well!

I feel like there's so much more to say about this! What are your thoughts??

 

Quote: "you'd have to be a moron to think a bunch of monkeys with guns is the highest form of life in the universe,"Sad, but quite apt. Can we get back to what would obviously be the best for all sentient life on the planet? I'm not optimistic.

(forget where that quote came from)

 

My youngest child thinks that I love too much and I forgive too easily. I don't think there is such a thing as too much and when I forgive someone, it's actually for me. I have always told my kids that hating someone that's hurt you, gives them power over you but forgiving them allows you to move on.

 

Being a hippie was fun for awhile. The drugs and free sex helped a lot in that regard.

But being a hippie doesn't pay anything, so only the drug dealers and pretty girls willing to prostitute bring anything in - until the dealers are dead or jailed and the girls get uglified to a point where nobody really wants to touch them anymore.

As for the "love" and "peace" stuff - nice words. Difficult to turn into reality with any lasting steadiness.

Rather than "hippie-ness", I've found that just being relaxed is a more worthwhile pursuit of lifestyle. Live and let live and don't be told what you have to think or feel. Be true to yourself.

 

Yup, I absolutely agree. It's slow but it bears results. As JL said . "... but I'm not the only one." Look at how many people love just that one sentiment.

 

Hippies are still around, still fighting the good fight, but sadly the right-wing calls us woke, like that's a bad thing. We experience backlash against the concept of peace, love and understanding. They despise us for trying to change the world and bring about equality.

The slogan, "Make America Great Again" implies that we've ruined it. If ending the draft, defending the environment and bringing about greater opportunities for women and minorities is ruining America then let's finish the job. As things stand now the counterculture is rather complacent, but if the Retrumplicans start rising in the polls we'll need to see some serious activism.

 

The world is desperately in need of more peace, love and social justice. To me, those are core hippie (and Christian) values. (Sex, drugs, rock n'roll not so much!) I think these values have strong evolutionary roots in values which are necessary for social survival and harmony: empathy and reciprocal altrusim. Even non-human social species like elephants, dogs, and even rats. Society is necessary for human survival, and social stability depends on subordination of selfish impulses to the common good. As human societies expanded, these biologically-based instincts were extended through cultural evolution to increasingly larger units, until during the Axial Age of prophets and philosophers, they became universal. Empathy ("love thy neighbor") and reciprocal altruism ("do unto others as you would have others do unto you") are the core of Jesus' teachings, and have counterparts in the other world religions.

These aren't just "pie in the sky" ideals, but practical norms on which the harmonious working of society depends. To the extent we follow them, we produce a stable, workable system conducive to human flourishing. The ancient Egyptians called it maat, the personification of truth, balance,order, harmony, law, morality, justice, and cosmic order, conceived as a goggess.. Hindus and Buddhists call it dharma, the cosmic law underlying right behavior and social order. The Greco-Roman Stoics called it natural law, a system of universal rules derived from observation of nature" True law is right reason in agreement with nature; it is of universal application, unchanging and everlasting; it summons to duty by its commands, and averts from wrong-doing by its prohibitions. And it does not lay its commands or prohibitions upon good men in vain, although neither have any effect on the wicked." Cicero. To the extent we ignore them, we experience disharmony from which all will eventually suffer. If all humans observed them, it would be Heaven on Earth--a return to Paradise. If most or none did, it would be Hell on Earth--Hobbes" "war of all against all." God is Love.

 

"practical norms on which the harmonious working of society depends." And--"if all humans observed them, it would Heaven on earth--a return to paradise." True enough--HOWEVER-- it's never been thus with a certain segment of human society--that segment that wishes for power through self aggrandizement at any and all costs , regardless of whom is denied their rights to live an honorable and peaceful life on earth. And who is to bring that segment under control to gain that paradise on earth to ALL sentient beings? Are we not a reflection of nature as it stands now? Prey and the preyed upon? It would ( to me) seem obvious that there is no all powerful god that can or will step in to right the wrongs(?) that some of humanity continue to abet the imbalance that abides. Is humanity doomed by the repetition of such? I wonder if the present condition / s indicate a certain demise of the so called "intelligent " life on earth. 10 years? 100 years? 500 years? It's not looking too good IMO.

 

Yes, that's always been the problem. The best I can see to do is to try the best I can to fight for the good, and hope enough people wake up eventually to avoid catastrophe. Last week, one of the pro-gun Texas legislators said the people doubting that "Thoughts and prayers" were enough to address the gun problem were a bunch of unbelievers with no faith in God. Anyone who thinks humans have no responsibility to try to solve their own problems and should leave it to God to take care of us has no business holding public office !

 

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