I watched a VH1 documentary today on the 60's and the hippie movement, etc.. you all know the drill on how those things go down. However this certain documentary got my mind wondering... I began questioning the movement in the 60's. Why did it begin? - economic instability - war - a government with too much control - consciousness expansion All of this seems pretty relevant to our time period, yeah? Things hippies were all about. - Peace - Love - Freedom - Freeing your mind All these are good things, yeah? "Oh, but the hippies were just utopian, none of those things are possible or realistic" I know a lo t of you probably think this, however utopian thinking is the basis of the hippy movement. "Imagine no possesions, I wonder if you can, No need for greed or hunger, A brotherhood of man. Imagine all the people sharing all the world. John Lennon (Imagine) Positive thinking is critical to any good change. WE HAVE to think outside of the "realistic" view, because the "realistic" view will always be flawed in its controlled thinking. Other beliefs that spring from our core philosophy are: an earthy spirituality such as a belief in Gaia (the earth as an organism), the Greens movement (political activism), even shamanism and vegetarianism. These philosophical and political views reflect a respect for nature and the planet as a whole, something lacking in our capitalistic and materialistic societies. The world needs hippies to point out alternatives to the entrenched system and warn of the impending disasters that await us if we don’t change our lifestyles. The goal is not to make everyone a hippie (what would we have to protest?). Rather we can try to influence others by example, through tolerance and love and teaching the virtues of the hippie way. My idea of "hippie" is not a matter of dress, behavior, economic status, or social milieu. It is a philosophical approach to life that emphasizes freedom, peace, love and a respect for others and the earth. The way of the hippie never died. There have always been hippies from the first time society laid down rules, to Jesus, to Henry David Thoreau, to John Lennon, to you and me. I believe there’s a little hippy in all of us. It’s just been repressed by our socialization process. We need to find it and cultivate our hippie within. Only then can we reach our true potential. "I took the road less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." Robert Frost (The Road Not Taken) The hippes that we all idolize and see on tv and youtube videos now have aged- most nearing around 60-70 no, they have come to terms with the same situations all humans must face. However their spirit has not died, I recently came across a website they they are utilizing to teach their ways of the 60s. We must ask ourselves why the revolution failed? - Commodification Capitalism took the psychedelic culture in and made ads for things such as pepsi and 7up using psychedelic art, the media "played out" the counter-culture.. (Sort of like hot topic these days) -The Manson Murders -Kent State shooting. Now living in a digital age, where information is more freely shared across open networks, and an age where our predecessors are those of the 60's 70's I have seen our group of friends become more educated about life, politics, friendship, love, psychology, capitalism, everything. The government might not know it. But us Generation X and Generation Y kids are a generation of great intelligence. They underestimate our power. We now have the capabilities of finding information on our own, a new form of media that is controlled by US. This ensures government cooption can NOT exist. Why are we just sitting around listening to the beatles instead of organizing and fighting for what we believe in. We need to get off our asses organize, and change. Lets bring what we know is best back. LOVE IS THE NEW MOVEMENT. "All you need is love." -The Bealtes What is the best way to get people behind this, it seems like much of the youth are apathetic or against idealistic values.. old hippies please help me!
Wow, you could almost write a dissertation about this... I imagine you will get hundreds of different answers. For me (age 58, born in 1950), it was being anti-war and wanting peace... hasn't changed in 30 plus years. Utopian/commune living wasn't my bag, although I did try it. Peace, love and freedom are still part of my life. Gaia, green living and shamanism is more a part of my life now than it was then. I've never been a vegetarian, not then or now and I don't apologize for it. I was raised on positive thinking (my parents were beatniks) and it's served me well. Money is not the root of all evil, unless you worship it. That's never been my problem. I've always expected the universe to provide and it always has. Kind of an early version of Law of Attraction. Why do you believe the revolution failed? It didn't, it just evolved. Those things happen, with every generation. Most baby boomers still hold on to those ideals, but we grew up, got married (or didn't), had children (or not), and learned and became wiser. We know what we learned, but you can't force those lessons down the throats of the generations that followed. I've heard people say of their own children, "why can't they just learn from my experiences?" Why should they? They have no comprehension of what those times and experiences were like. If they did, we would not still be having massacres on school campuses, 14 year old girls would not be getting pregnant, people would not be hungry and homeless, and we would not be at war again. As much as I wish people would learn from the past, I realize that it's impossible. I don't know what it was like during World War 2, but I do from Vietnam, and agonized about Iraq. My children grew up with conflict in the Middle East. Will they be able to tell their children how bad it was and hope another war won't ever happen again. I can only hope and wish. Namaste!
thanks for the response.. but i do not think that the revolution failed at all... there were successful evolutions in sociology that came about because of it... however, we are in a state of crisis today, very similar to that of the 60s. An unwinnable war that is not approved of, a censoring government, a failed democracy, and all of our civil and constitutional rights have gone down the toilet. But the youth of today are apathetic, and *brainwashed*, for lack of a better term to describe it. I have tried gettin friends and other youth on board for some demonstrations and spreading the word and what not, but everyone seems so opposed to idealistic views.. why is this? and how can I go about changing it?
You know, it's hard to get people on board with something they feel has little chance of changing. But when they get fed up enough, that could change. When this war first started, my husband and I attended an anti war rally, actually just a candlelighting. We had people, mostly young men in their early 20's, drive by and call us names and throw garbage at us. I thought if they believed that the war was so right, why hadn't they enlisted to go over and fight. I think I lot of people of your generation are conflicted and confused. The future seems hopeless and I can't blame them for feeling that way. There is a lot of anger. There needs to be some drastic changes. If and when that will come is anyone's guess at this point.
maybe we should change with the times in our actions...people held demonstrations over war and oppression in the 60's but now the world revolves around the web and media so maybe thats where we should make our point...i dont know how but im sure if we get people to band together on the hip forums we could do something...
