I wasn’t born in the 1960’s, I was born in the 80’s. I am in college, and just am really lost. I feel like I am experiencing what the 1960’s hippies experienced. I am being forced to choose a major and a degree and forced to get a job. To me education should be about learning, and instead I am being herded as a sheep to try and get a high paying job. This isn’t what I want. I don’t want material possessions. My parents are telling me to look for a job, but it just seems so useless sometimes, jobs today pay less than they did 20 years ago, people are working for minimum wage, in menial jobs, when all the CEO’s are making the real money. I would love to maybe be an independent musician along the lines of Fugazi, but colleges don’t have classes in independent business or buisness ethics, its all business classes that are talking about how to make it big and make big bucks how to be a typical sleazebag CEO. In the 1960’s one could drop out and go to Haight or other places, but today their isn’t a thousand or so kids living in the Haight, the hippie scene as it existed back then seems non existent. Their isn’t large numbers of hippies who have dropped out and could provide support. Bascially, I am lost. I am not sure what to do. As I said in the 60’s, if I was feeling this way I would have thousands of kids who were doing to same thing and I could go with them to the Haight, but as I said this doesn’t exist anymore. If I drop out of school, I have no place to go, dropping out of society isn’t really an option for people anymore, because the support of thousands of other people isn’t there I am worried about a draft, I am draft age, I am lost as to what I should do. I am confident I could get CO status, I am an activist, but is it worth it if all your friends are dying and you stay alive. Know what I mean? I don’t know if I could mentally and emotionally deal with thousands even millions of youngsters being carted off to die in iraq in the event of a draft. Should I just flee the country, or should I stay here? Also, I am upset that their isn’t mass uprisings at universities like they had in the 60’s. I have read books that described after Kent State 80 percent of universities had strikes, and in Madison wis, alone their were something like 55 bombs set off at universities. You had a generation of people thinking they could change the world. You had strikes, bombs, in vietnam their were fraggings, you have fringe radical groups like the weathermen and symbionese pop up. I am not saying all of this was good, my point is that during the 60’s people cared about the war, now it seems the uprising and protests are far between. Would it be worth it to stick around during the draft and fight the good fight by protesting, or should I just leave the US? Basically I am sick of everyones complascence including my own, why isn’t their mass uprisings going on? Like I said before, frankly I am lost, I have been listening to music and watching movies from during the Vietnam era to try and gain wisdom, but I haven’t found any answers. Can anyone give me advice about the way I am feeling? What can I do about my dilemmas? What should I do? What do all you current hippies feel about all this? What can you older hippies give in terms of advice to me? It just seems like no matter what path I choose its going to be tough. If I choose to get a job and be the status quo I will be ignoring my beliefs and values. If I leave the US I may miss the protests and uprisings that will occur, if I stay I may be drafted and I may see friends carted off to war. Help me with this please! Z
I can totally relate to you. I am in college right now, it's my 2nd year. I refuse to get a job right now. I am ok living minimally and enjoy knowing that I am not putting all my time, energy, and money into uncle sam's big mouth. I am working on getting an associate in arts degree. I want to go into journalism but I want to do that as my career while I am working on something else. I plan on moving to Conn. and going to college there to become a naturopathic physician. I know I'll probably be old when I get there, but hey, I want to have lots of experiences in life and I don't want to rush one along just to get to another. Anyway, I totally admire that you don't have strong material desires, or the desire to feed uncle sam. Keep going brother, and you'll find your way.
Dude, none of these people here are hippies. Who cares about what people wnet through in the 60's. We're not in the 60's. Deal with the shit ahead of you. ANd what your beliefs are that you shouldn't have to work to be a member of society?
i feel all the shit you're talking about...i've been dealing with the same problems. finish college. i did just enough work to get through. the rest of my time i spent partying...i had a great time. then i started waiting tables. its a decent job if you dont know what the hell you're doing. you can move your schedule around so that you have time to go to all the shows you want. you can wait tables anywhere, so you can travel. don't worry about doing what everyone wants you to do. go take a walk in the woods, and start dreaming. you only get one life, and it's yours, so do with it what you want.
Kent State happened in 1970. The protests went on through 1973 starting in the mid sixties. I caught the ass end of the protests at a very young age due to my being hard headed and opinionated at a very early age, having friends that were all at least five years older than me and living about ten miles to DC it was easy to get involved. The Viet Nam protests didn't happen the moment we got involved either. It took awhile. And although I was too young to be on my own in the sixties I can tell you it still took the coin of the realm (money). People usually have to work at something, what you work at is entirely your choice. There's plenty of classes on small business operation/ownership. Theres tons of different kinds of classes for that kinda stuff. Drop out and join the Rainbow or the ones that feed offa that ( Drainbow) Theres always options. Don't be short minded and think theres not alot of the same options out there.
Yup I feel pretty much the same way.... Used to be *very* obsessed with school, brilliant student, had all sorts of 'big' plans for my future.... and then I got, erm, ill. I mean mentally ill I became deeply depressed, and suffered from very severe anorexia for years. I have been *this* close to dying, even, due to what I did to my body.... And then I started thinking: Is this what *I* want, or is this what everyone else wants and what both they and me expect me to want? The answer, of course, is no.... That was not who I am. And because of my desperately wanting to live up to everyone's expectations, I never learned to love and accept, or even get to know *me*. I thought I had to be perfect in everything, and that I would only be worth something if I was perfect -- but the thing is, no one is perfect, and I have never been like most other people... I have been different since the day I was born. Trying to repress that only caused me to *hate* myself to no end... or at least that's what I thought. But recently I realized, I do not hate *me* as I really am, I do not hate the little girl I was before I started trying to live up to people's expectations -- I hate that silly pathetic little creature that does anything and everything to please others and fit in a society I find awful *anyway*.... So here's my new plan: Right now I am still in high school, because of my problems -- I was so weak from starving myself that I could not go to school for a year, so right now I am still in fifth form. I missed half of this year too, so now I have about 6 months to do entire fifth form -- this I will do somehow. *sighs and casts a tired look at her biology book* It's gonna be a hell of a lotta work, but I will do it. Then I will graduate after the next year, and the GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!!! Away from this stupid school, and away from this superficial bunch here.... I wanna go to India, to work as a volunteer -- like in an orphanage or something. I might come back for a year or so after that, to get a job and make some money -- but only so I can afford to leave again. I'd love to go to some commune, like Auroville or something.... Or travel around, go to all those wonderful inspirational places.... A better world is coming, I know it, and I want to have an active part in building it. But I understand your feelings *so* well... I mean, like I said in the post I made to introduce myself, most of the times it feels like I am the only one who still believes in a better world.... who really wants to try. So what do you do? Well I can tell you this: do NOT try to be the status quo!!!!! Like I just told you, I have tried, and it brought me as low as anyone can ever get. It nearly killed me. Be true to yourself, always. Listen to your soul -- it is the Source ('God', if you want...) talking directly to you. Ignoring it will only hurt you and others... And really, your parents want you to fit in with 'normal' people because they think that will make you most happy -- that is ALL they want for you . They just don't know any better now. But if you follow your heart, and it means that you leave America, or become a musician -- and you are happy that way, they will come around, eventually they will see that you were right. My family had high hopes for the 'Einstein' of the family... but they see now that could only make me unhappy, that it's just not my path, and they support me now in everything I want -- just as long as it feels right to me, as long as I follow my soul. I have changed a lot -- and in fact I am still in the process of discovering who I am, and learning to accept and love myself. But I feel *so* much better now, and this crazy hippy girl with all the idealistic dreams, I am now, is someone I *will* be able to finally accept. And my mother, for instance, *loves* everything about this new Claudia... because she sees how right it is for me. And perhaps also because she has always loved all the hippy stuff herself, too They'd rather have a happy girl who drops out of school and heads off to India, then one who lives up to society's expectations, but is deeply unhappy and is hurting and destroying herself. I think indeed that is will never be easy -- but if you follow your soul, it will feel right, and no matter how hard it is, you will find the strength you need. And you will be happy, because you know what you do is the right path, and you are chosing and making it *yourself*, instead of just following the herd, which deep down inside you know it not exactly doing a good job... But really, with some people, their soul says they have a place in that society, that for them the right path *is* to get a normal job and a wife or hubby and kids and a dog and a big house and a car -- and then that is perfectly fine too. There are lessons, then, they need to learn in *such* a life. For you, though, I think this is not the case. My suggestion: try to get answers through meditation, tarot, or whatever.... ask your questions, open up, and trust the answers. As for support from fellow hippies -- *sigh* well I have that problem too.... but perhaps you and me both can get our support from this forum? And maybe even organize something one day, some gathering of hippies again....*dreams* I wish you the best of luck! p.s. sorry for the long post...
if you want a scene kids, you got to make it for yourself - like folk did back in the 60's and 70's. But - ask yourself this - if the 60's scene was so great, how come all those hippies - or a lot of them got re-absorbed into the system? Where are they now?
Yeah you're right -- we can keep saying we want something to happen again, but *we* are the ones who have to make it happen! I just have *no* idea how... I don't know of any other hippies where I live, and I don't see myself making a change alone.... So would any of you first-generation hippies happen to have any tips? Any suggestions on what we could do? You know, to show the world there are still people who have hope, and who want to change the world for the better, like you did all those years ago.... And about what happened to the first generation: Well, I don't know really, of course, I wasn't there But I guess.... I think it's because things didn't go as smoothly, as easily and quickly as people had hoped.... and they got disappointed, and lost hope.... And they gave up I guess the world just wasn't ready yet, back then.... I'm not sure it is now.... But we can try And it might not happen straight away, but I *know* the change is gonna come soon -- perhaps even in our lifetimes, but certainly within the next few generations
