We were gonna change the world...what happened?

"Catastrophic" events like the collapse of the banking industry have resulted in a lot of good things happening, because now we're forced to re-evaluate our priorities. Things like renewable energy are becoming more widely accepted. College grads are seeing corporate culture for what it is, a house of cards, and they're rejecting it. Sometimes hardship is required to bring about change, because when times are good no one thinks about change.

The way I see it, it's cyclical, we go through phases and transitions. Just as McCarthyism of the '50's led to the hippie era of the late '60's, I envision another hippie movement in response to the terrorism of the bush administration.

One thing we've got that the hippies didn't is the internet, a powerful tool for mobilizing the grass roots movement. There's power in numbers of people who think alike if they can collectively form one voice.

 

i hear you mellow man...
same thing in Australia..
greedy non thinking a/holes..

 

To change the world enough people have to agree to change it in some way, such as in the U.S. I think we need to go back to the constitution, I think taxes need to be abolished except on import and export buisness, and I think we should get rid of political parties all together, but I am one of the only people I know who feels this way, so I don't think it'll be changing anytime soon

 

Most of the progressives I know are too stupid to know what to do to stop it. (I don't know either). and to many of them focus on their perversions, like little kids or worse. At least, the ones I know

 

It is a great mobilizing tool, but it also mobilizes our enemies like skinheads and nazis.

 

the parents don't have to be biological. My family was all adopted. so stop that breeder snobbishness.

 

Most progressives I know have a unified view of the big picture. The problem is they can't seem to agree on how to get things done.

Contrast that with the GOP. They're fairly unified in their methods of screwing us and the environment by rewarding greed and corruption in the name of Jesus.

True, but I think we outnumber our enemies (if not, we've got bigger problems). They only seem to be such a presence because they're so outspoken in their hostility.

 

Maybe we just won't see it right away. If we have raised our children and grandchildren with our beliefs and values...then, ya, the world WILL change. When my daughter was a young teen she used to wish that she was around in the late '60s early '70s. I told her that her and her friends didn't have to be around THEN to make a difference. They could still do it now. And they do!!

 

If anything ended the hippie movement it was the economic stagflation that began with the inflationary recession of 1974. It became more difficult to support one's self with a part time job, and the economy became less forgiving of wrong decisions and failures. When Timothy Leary said "Turn on. Tune in. Drop out." in 1966 a lot of people took his advice, knowing that they could drop back in later on, and find an appreciative employer. After 1973 that was increasingly less likely.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUokMbJC3P8

 

the flower children and the beats, yall did change the world! everyone generation added something to make the world what it is now, look at censorship, before yall crazy rolling stones talking about sex and zeppelin makin "the juice run down my leg" and shit like that..sex wasnt public, you guys had a huge part in how openly we can talk about things now, we can talk about sex, you can say fuck when your mad..that was jaw dropping back then before you guys, at least according to my grandparents, i love you all, beauti folk people

 

And as it does it also brings them into the open and exposes them to the light of day!

 

I just want you to know that I am part of the younger generation I am only 19 years old and your movement has affected my beliefs in many ways. I never really believed that all there was to life was doing good in school to get a good job to work your life away. Now a days we are told thats the only way to be happy. But now that I have seen this way of life and people who think like me I know for sure there are other ways. Hope that helps and if you would like to teach me more of your life lessons I would LOVE to hear!

 

We were in the first wave of the attack, and that is where the casualties are always the highest. Most of us compromised ourselves with the Establishment in order to survive. They allowed us to hold on to some of our identity because they needed slaves. Now many of us are reawakening to our actual situation, and realize it is time to rally around our standard once again. We can still make an impact on the world, but we must do it by example in our own lives.
We did OK for the first round, now I hear the bell ring - it's time for round two, defend yourself at all times, and come out fighting!

 

Okay so I stopped reading at the first five pages, and I'm very young still, but your generation really inspires me to make a change in society and help make the world natural and loving again!
If you hadn't been there, none of the beautiful psychedelic music would've been there, none of the freedom, and the glow of your tracks in the face of every person: every one is influenced.
And maybe its time for a comeback, since youve learned and can pass the knowledge on to us

There are plenty of you left, and we are here, so maybe we can do more to pass on peace and love into every heart

 

personally i think music changed. I would love for music to return to a time when lyrics were crafted for thought when you could sit down and mull over what was behind the thought process. Ah such times. Then again, i suppose nothing remains the same. Just a matter of moving on but keeping those times in our heads. Im eager for a "revolution of return" ........hahaha..lol

 

I actually went to the 40th Woodstock reunion this year, but that's another story...we did change the world-particularly for those three days. What happened was the establishment became frightened, and re-grouped, when it became evident we were becoming united and wanted our voices to be heard.

chip01

 

We might take note that we cannot change the world, but we can change our mind about it. We cannot stop the tide from turning but we may learn to surf. We cannot prevent flooding but we can build on higher ground. We cannot save lives, all are consumed in the sacrificial fire of metabolism, but we can learn to use our time wisely.

 

Round two, I like that idea. And when you think about it, the conditions are perfect, with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to rival the Vietnam conflict, a status quo of corrupt politicians and corporations who have no concern for the rest of us, kids are saying fuck you to the man, because they've seen that hard work and loyalty got their parents nowhere. So all you younger adults out there, this is your show, let's see what you got.

 

Well said. It's true that everyone dies, but we can lessen suffering. Everyone fears, but we can stand together. Everyone fails, and we can forgive.

Did we create a perfect paradise on earth? Well, it seemed possible for awhile, but you know, good luck. BUT, who pioneered green and sustainable? Organic? Consciouness awareness? Sexual freedom? Who was a major part of the long march of equality? I know we didn't invent these things, but by the fact of our existence, hippies were huge in these and other good things.

My understanding of the heart of what Jesus, The Buddha and others teach is to free our minds and be kind - worrying less about the externals.