If the hippies had won that struggle in the 60s

The Saints Are Coming





In a thread earlier today over at the GOS, somebody blamed 60s era hippies for the mess we’re in today. Nothing could be further from the truth in my opinion. We did not win the culture wars in the 60s, we lost. It wasn’t us that ended up running things, it was the other side, the Nixonites. The neocons are direct descendants of said rightwingers (they did NOT descend from the hippies). There was no point where the evil rightwing bastards turned things over to the hippies. That hippies are somehow responsible for the trashing of America is a rightwing-inspired urban myth. Takes the heat off of them.

If the hippies had won that struggle in the 60s we’d live in a more humane world today.





Sure some of our guys switched sides at some point, got caught up in consumerism or got seduced by the other side (hoping that they too could become millionaires or something) but most of us are still pretty much like we were back in the day. We still yearn for a world full of peace, love and understanding. We still believe that people are capable of wonderful things, that war is NOT inevitable, and that we all deserve much, much better –

...well maybe not all of us.

Good people need the force of law to deal with evil people. That’s why the hippies lost. The law allowed the Nixonites to brutally attack us and this they did with glee – it takes special character to violently attack unarmed pacifists, it’s not the sort of job just anyone can do. They showed us no mercy.

We could never out-evil those who were then and remain now truly and deeply evil. Without the protection of the law, we were toast - and the law failed us because it became heavily politicized and stopped serving the interest of justice. Justice has been a rare bird in this part of the world for a long time now. We have 5% of the world’s population, and 25% of the world’s prison population – and this in the richest nation in the world (not that that is true anymore).

What’s wrong with this picture?

We need to re-establish the rule of law, not as it applies to the man in the street - we have more than enough of that, but as it applies to the men and women at the top – and we’ve had virtually none of that.
If the hippies had prevailed, if our society had followed their lead, we’d have a world much closer to being ecologically balanced. We’d have mature alternative energy technologies and organic food grown on family farms would predominate. We’d likely be at peace in a peaceful world and we’d be actively engaged in helping other nations help themselves in purely benign relations with our fellow earthlings. Though the world would certainly still be imperfect, we’d be masters of diplomacy and things would be generally better in this world for virtually everyone. We might have fewer millionaires and billionaires but trust me nobody would miss them.

The important point is that we would not be killing each other - we’d be taking care of each other.

Oh I know, I’m hopelessly naïve. People couldn’t possibly be good to each other. How ridiculous. I should just grow up and face the brutal fact that we are nothing but ignorant and mean-spirited savages.

That kind of thinking is what has brought us to this point. We had choices. Peace, love and understanding are the choices the hippies urged. Fear, war and empty-headed consumerism were the choices forced down our throats by the rightwing. It wasn’t inevitable – and it wasn’t us. It could’ve all been very different.


http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/26/14551/3007/504/503938

 

Yet when we became voters and consumers we caved. We bought into the promises of lower rates for deregulation. We didn't question the push for HMOs they just promised lower rates. We bought into deregulation of utilities in California, they promised us lower rates. We allowed the republicans to throw out Gray Davis after the people reelected him in California, and we footed the bill for a special election to elect the governator.

We voted that our children have to wear helmets while riding their bikes, it was supposed to be about safety and lowering our insurance rates. But have you ever worn a helmet while bike riding when it's over 100 degrees? Have you ever tried to keep track of whether or not your child plops on a helmet before riding over to a friends? Or perhaps that why today's kids are fat, because they'd prefer to sit on the couch than do so.

We've outlawed smoking in California, but we rely on the taxes on it to fund more than just anti smoking campaigns.

We allowed the formation of Homeland Security and the Patriot act, and stood by while the poor got the shaft after Katrina.

We expanded curriculm in the sixties but now our kids and grandkids have to focus on passing the exams for No Child Left Behind, at the expense of a well rounded eduation.

We stood by and let our government wage war in Iraq.

We caved.

 

this is why we must never give up the fight. NEVER. So we didn't get it with flower power; it doesn't mean we should give up. If enough people open their minds and hearts we can really do something.

 

No, now it's the new generations fight.

 

we need another hippie revolution, and i wouldnt be surprised if one does come round soon

peace

 

I saw a video on VH1 of John Lennon in 1972 saying the very same thing. I think the quote was, "OK, so flower power didn't work, but we'll get there somehow."

He was performing at a protest concert. If anyone has seen that footage, perhaps you could expand on what that was all about. Again, it was on VH1 last year.

 

Me either... this decade seems to be a repeat of both the 60's and the 80's... Just look at all of the hippy themed movies/shows are being made, and just how many people are using psychedelics.

 

Well it can depend on what aspects of hippieism we're talking about.

Hippies who advocated Socialism/Marxism/communalism have been shown to be wrong overall. Hippies who advocated smoking marijuana have fared better.

 

And there have been songs by new bands that have very hippie messages i.e. If Everyone Cared-Nickelback
Plus in those big stores I've seen shirts with peace signs on them(unfortunatly only for girls)

 

I still advocate a mix of socialism and minor capitalism.We can see the results of pure capitalism now.It's spiraling out of control and sooner or later will take us all down,if not ameliorated.

 

Examples?

What country has pure capitalism?

 

well really there are no purely capitalist countries

 

Yes,y'all are right.Shoulda just said capitalism.

 

I think millionaires and billionaires in the world who don't care about anyone but themselves and create charities to only support their image and the money never even ends up in the hands of those who need it most would disagree

 

To the Marxist Hippies,since this went down during that era:


" Vietnam began to be a success only after its ruling Communists accepted that capitalism, free markets and free trade were the surest route to riches. They began in 1986 with a liberalisation programme called doi moi (renewal), though real reform came in fits and starts over the following 20 years. Collectivisation was scrapped, farmers were given their own land to till and agricultural prices were freed... "

LINK

 

In my opinion, the hippies and rightwingers generally combined creating something in between. The influence of the hippies on the way we act today is hard to deny therefore you cant really said they lost. However they obviously didnt "win"

 

My dad has a lot of money and gives away to charities, yet he's not famous, not known at all. He doesnt talk about it at all even, it only com eup in conversation once. So are you saying he only does it for his image?

Would you say that most millionares give away money for their image? Seriously, the vast majority of people probably dont give away money to create the appearence of good.

Why should a rich person be obligated to give away his or her money? Unless you win the lottery or inherit your money, you cant just get rich sitting on your ass. You have to be very good at what you do to make a lot of money.


The thing I hate about communism is it creates people who dont do shit. It promotes an atmossphere of lazyness because why should you try hard if you make just as much money not trying at all.

 

Well no but I am talking about the huge movie stars and such. GENERALLY they do it for a better public image
(Though billions of dollars are invested in cancer, AIDS and other disease cures. And same for world hunger/poverty, and yet these things are still an issue. It makes you wonder where all this money is going...possibly to the higher up people...)
Well although there hasn't really been a successful communist country for a long period of time(prove me wrong) people still will work hard(but this goes into the ideal communism where everyone supports it fully and is happy with what he/she gets, which doesn't happen)

 

I don't advocate communism. I advocate individual responsibility, and that involves being informed on issues and demanding accountability. I believe in certain areas of life and and a nation's infrastructure that there should be regulation. Regulation that insures that the everyone's interests are granted equal weight. Not just a financial return. Utilities/energy, banking institutions, and health care should be regulated in order to provide the secure and uninterrupted and stable provision of supply.

This to me is more important that regulating lifestyles or religion. Which we have allowed to be the important issues in elections.

 

^
I have no problem with regulations as long as those regulations aren't counterproductive like the effects of price controls.


" Accelerated economic growth and the lack of a market-friendly energy policy in recent years have caused power shortages in Argentina... "

Reuters