I think you are onto something there. There are lots of things that never change: there will always be a mix of good stuff and bad stuff, and people will always be dissatisfied. But there are real differences between the 60s and now, and the lack of hope now is one of them. Back then, society has swung to the political left and there was hope for social change and economic well-being. Society swung back hard to the right in the 1980s and has stayed there ever since. There is little chance for social change and intuitively we know that both economically and environmentally it's all going downhill. Back then, power was in the hands of the people; now it is in the hands of faceless, soulless corporations. If there is any hope to be found, it is in the young people who are willing to learn enough to understand what is happening, and to change things themselves.
And you, of tender years Don't know the fears That your elders grew by so please help them with your youth They seek the truth Before they can die. Teach your children well, Their father's hell did slowly go by, And feed them on your dreams The one they picked, the one you'll know by. Don't you ever ask them why, if they told you, you would cry, So just look at them and sigh and know they love you. - CSN&Y
I see plenty of hope and people trying to change things. Perhaps you have to look further than your own country border? I think it's hilarious and sad at the same time when you see a so called hippie longing for an over-romanticized spot in time. It's all about the now and the future, no use in being melancholic over a period that had only these fun things because it was really needed more at that time than now and especially happened because the circumstances were right. That's right, we shouldn't want to repeat history. Only to learn from it. And certainly not waste today's chances of fun and idealizing because it does not seem so far out groovy as another couple of years you saw and hear about. Just like back then it's all about being in the right spot. You're life would have sucked just the same if you were born in the 'right' decade.
I totally agree. All the music i listen to is from the sixties. All the drugs i use became popular in the sixties. I just wish i could live communally away from society like the hippies of the old days.
i was born in 80 was suppse to be born at wood stock in 69's but sound like i was born in '07....lmao
I have a few questions for you kids. Do you wish you got sprayed down with firehoses for speaking up for equality? Do you wish you were shot at for protesting the war? Do you wish you got your head shaved with a rusty razor by local cops for having long hair? Do you wish you had to wonder if your phone was bugged because you spoke up too loud against the war? Do you ever wish you had to worry that you just paid $60 for an eighth of catnip? Do you ever wish that you allways had to worry about the cops finding your stash because you didn't want to spend 10 years in prison for 2 joints? Do you ever wish that you had to sweat bullets and hope that your number for the draft didn't get picked so that you wouldn't have to go fight in some god forsaken jungle? I think I made my point. One of the most important aspects of hippie culture and philosophy is don't be nostalgic. We are trying to improve upon the past not relive it. I'm 35 right now and find it hard enough to be nostalgic for periods in my own life let alone nostalgic for things that happened before I was born. I'm lucky to have hippie parents who raised me right. I'm lucky that I worked as a bartender someplace that had a few vets with PTSD who hung out and told war stories. I'm also lucky that I grew up now and got to read the literature from those who were there and didn't tell it through rose colored glasses. Peace Out, Rev j
We all look at the past through somewhat rose colored glasses. Reverend JC is right about many of the hastles involved in that time frame. But most of the hassles were long term productive - and we believed that. The draft led to protesting the war which let to Johnson stepping down and withdrawal from Vietnam. Police and dogs let to Civil Rights legislation. Being busted was not too hot - but then again - most cops didn't know the smell of weed from a dog turd - so you could get away with a lot. Me - I spent 6 months on the County Farm in Raymond, Ms. for drugs. Really shitty but eye opening to the fact that folks is folks and sometimes they do bad things. Even my stint on farm helped shape me and make me what and who I am today. Don't come down on nostalgia man. To think back on those days is a joy not everyone can enjoy. God knows I do.
I just fealt like adding this to the arguement. Just to prove that I'm not completely humorless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMN7fGZW_BY"]YouTube- Charlie Daniels "Uneasy Rider" Peace Out, Rev J
There are plenty of hippies and good ones in these times. Embrace yourself, those people and all the good things in life. Time is an illusion as we in the New Age Movement say. Do not say it is not so, because HUMANS created time.
So if time's an illusion what does new age mean then Humans only shaped the concept of time, time was doing it's thing long before there were humans.