Here are a few gems which speak volumes quoted from The Chicago Seven Trial~ Abbie Hoffman said that new political methods were needed because the conventions of the Democrat and Republican Parties were controlled by machine politics which had nothing to do with the needs of the people. Mr. Hoffman continued to say that we should set up a series of political meetings throughout the country, not just for the coming summer but for the coming years. Mr. Hoffman suggested that we have love-ins or be-ins in which thousands of young people and freedom-loving people throughout the country Could get together on Sunday afternoons, listen to music which represented the new point of view, the music of love and peace and harmony, and try to bring about a political change in this country that would be nonviolent in people's minds and in their hearts, and this is the concept of the love-in which Mr. Hoffman was urging upon us. TESTIMONY OF TIMOTHY LEARY Revolutionary party? My ultimate goal is to create a society that is a free society; that is a joyous society where everyone is fed, where everyone is educated, where everyone has a job, where everyone has a chance to express himself artistically or politically, or spiritually, or religiously.TESTIMONY OF LINDA HAGER MORSE (Peace activist)
Abbie Hoffman was one of the greatest American activists. He had great insight into the working of the media and the system. He was very clever and figured ways to use the media to our advantage. The media is out there, always waiting for interesting, exciting stories. Hoffman along with Jerry Rubin and the other Yippies invented new ways to spark media interest, peaking with the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago where many thousands of protesters gathered. But the blood that was spilled there was totally unnecessary as the police themselves rioted, beating up protesters, journalists, passers-by indiscriminately. That showed the system's true colors to anyone who watched - And that day the Whole World Was Watching! Ever since then, most Americans think twice about going out to protest, worried they'll get arrested and beaten up by those who we pay to serve and protect us. It's a pretty sad commentary on America's alleged Freedom of Speech and Democracy when people can't even protest the Gov't in public anymore...
Brothers and sisters the most stupid think is that all exsocialist (socialisam and comunisam are good but not the best) countries now are folowing the capitalistic dream not understanding what it is.My country now wants to get in the europian union and in nato because they think there will be beter. They don't understand that capitalisam is bad and too selfish and too materialistic. The people are blind and can't see the truth, we should show the world the truth and we should do it now.
ditto. haha... i would say more... but i'm sleepy. sorry. oh but i would say this... there could be problems with a free society. but everything else sounds ace.
I think that is what keeps,' vetern hippies' away from mainstream activesum, 'We took it to the streets' and got the rough end of the nightstick upside our head, or worse. That is when we were young and healed faster The Dream is wonderfull and what most plain folk want to live like. The gov'tal sturcture needs change, but in the transition how will it come about. The 'shoulds' everyone should do, is easy to talk about, but for some most difficult to accomplish. I hear a lot of talk about change, but little doing even on our own homefront. I'm not condeming, for I am the same as you. What I want to know is how to really go green without the high expence of equiptment. I want to go solor but the panels and the storage batteries are beyond our means. I thought further into it and wanted wind energy as we have a well, but again the upfront expence. Besides living off the land as much as possible, farming and livestock, stock ponds, recycling. I would really like to get away from paying for water and eletricity. Our well is old and we can only run it 30 minutes or so before it runs dry, it fill back up about four feet the next day but we cant use it for the house, for showers, dishes, washing clothes, etc. If we could afford the wind power to set up with our exsisting well to generate both water and eletricity we would be more selfsuficient. We have four electric meters on our place (three family dwellings and the barn) that twirll like a majoretts baton. An estimated amount was around 30,000 to set it up, redigging the well and the windmill and apperadi. I don't know if we will live long enough to pay a debt of that amount, we are in our late 50s, living on a fixed income. I believe going green will help contribut to changing the system of things. It will take the fossil fuel mongers out of play and bring relief to the outragous utility bills. I also believe, that taking control of your own health is a step in the right direction to knock the all mighty pill manufacturers/pushers off their throne. Maybe if people would come out of the cloud of pills the doctors shove down their throats, they would realize that there is a better way. We need organization. We need leaders to follow representitives to talk for us, bc the light is dim for some. There are circumstances that can prevent ones from living like they want. I had to conform somewhat bc of my daughters illness. Can't run a breathing machine without eletricity, strict and special diet.. sometimes it isnt possible to drop out completely. To live with as little stress as possible on ourselves and on our universe is the wisdom we seek. To live together in harmony as one spieces, is the ideal we all of The Hippie Nation desire, for all people. We need non political representives, new canidates to vote for. People minded individuels that make dicissions that relate the needs of the people and not lining their own or their friends pockets. Every person in every nation would have to be agreeable for it to really take place, a revelution,without firing a shot.. all the warroirs lay down their weapons at once. bc I can't lay down my arms untill it's agreed on and everyone lays theirs down with me. We could return to the barter system and trade without money. The land would have to have community involvement to sustain each household and community affaires. It could work, if we could get the world to agree. I believe we are in for a large change, but it will come from nature itself, or an evelution of sorts, perhaps a universal awakening, that will gentely sway us in the right direction, symotainiously, with sencronicity. That would be ideal. Bright Blessings in the New Year sh
Sh, I agree with your sentiments. I believe we must all learn to live independently, or as independent as possible, perhaps in "independent" communities. When I say independent I mean not dependent upon the Federal gov't for handouts, upon corporations, upon the economic, political or physical infrastructure. Until those systems are completely revamped or removed we must learn how to survive by ourselves without the SYSTEM to fall back upon. Cause one day it might no longer be there for us. I feel that is what our generation will experience, needs to experience. What we believed in the 70s, about the corrupt society that would eventually fail, is apparently now coming true. It's taken longer than we thought, and many of us have come back into the system and forgotten those paradigm shattering realizations we had way back then. For us it's really now or never to change the system. This election cycle is CRUCIAL! We must remove from office those who've failed in their responsibilities to represent the PEOPLE, not corporations. They must go. Period. If we can actually elect representatives and President & V.P. who will insist upon change, starting with no more lobbyists and corporate control over our gov't we will be heading in the right direction. But as others have pointed out, we must ALSO change our lifestyles, lower our material expectations, and form new support systems to replace those we may lose. Time is definitely not on our side anymore. WE'VE WASTED THE LAST 30 YEARS! We can't get those years back, and the damage we've done to this planet during those last 30 years may be irreversible. And things are still getting WORSE for this planet and all life that exists upon it. We're losing 5,000 species a year to human greed. Our seas are becoming LIFELESS. Our land and water is so polluted, soon half the human population will not have access to clean drinking water! Any ecologist will tell you we are facing an UNPRECEDENTED ecological disaster, where one ecosystem after another will collapse like dominoes. It's already started, and soon it will be unstoppable. And no one can say how it will actually play out. How many humans can survive an massive ecological collapse is unknown. But you can be sure it won't be pretty. And with world tensions as high as they are, any natural ecological disaster can add enough pressure to the pot to cause a new World War. On a more cheery note, at least we can all discuss this on the Net and coordinate plans to fight this. But this is looking more inevitable every day, and if we don't make the right choices this election, it's all over now baby blue... You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last. But whatever you wish to keep, you better grab it fast. Yonder stands your orphan with his gun, Crying like a fire in the sun. Look out the saints are comin' through And it's all over now, Baby Blue. -bob dylan
I try to teach my Children to defeat their inner egos and be humbled .... the biggest fight are from with in. My oldest son, he serves his people as a tribal council member, my daughters are doing well in life and got good Karma by being aware, humble and learning to be comfortable in their own skins. My children are better Humans that I am .... my biggest success in my Life !!!!
Not sure about the independent communes and other “out of system” idea(l)s. Was fascinated by it for a time, but most of it just fails, and those that are big and lasting enough start functioning more like a typical town than they like to admit, just using different terminology to maintain the fantasy. Besides many existing established settlements started that way long ago. In Europe where shit is older many changed structure and affiliation multiple times. The little town I was born and raised in (not living there any more) goes back to prehistory, with oldest remaining surviving structures from a couple of centuries BC. Changed a truckload of political structures through all that time, including being an independent commune in some periods. It depends on the politics of the era, it is not very realistic to immagine a scenario of going completely against the time and believe anything of relevant size could do it’s own thing just ignoring it all. Nation states are the dominant political formation for about a century now (fall of last empires after the ww1), something else might pop up in the future, so we adapt. Yes we can have intentional communities, but their independence and self-sufficiency is not real, they exist within a political system and because it allows them to exist. The paradox is that members are often anti-whatever actually creates the structure that creates them in the first place. Hippies are a surplus on the democratic-capitalist system in many ways. What would happen if the “system” implodes and we are in our presumably self sufficient commune? All rainbows and butterflies from than on? How many would die after the first drought because there is no wider support structure and logistics to relocate resources? What would happen if three other communes nearby decide to integrate, get bigger in numbers, trade, economy, resources and technology and than run you over, kill the man and enslave the rest? Because that was the reality of early stages of political development, we did not get here by some evil top down design, the same shit developed independently (at least up to globalised interconnected times) everywhere. Tribes to villages to city states to protokingdoms to feudal structures - happened in Europe, in Asia and in the Americas, anywhere outside geographically extreme areas that could not sustain a big organised population. What would happen if the modern democratic, capitalist system dissolved would not be perfect freedom but becoming a bitch of the first neighbouring psycho warlord that would take everything, including personal freedom (which can never be complete in any organised group of people and never was right from prehistory tribal times, but is also closer to that now than it ever was). I would still be attracted to alternative communes if not tied down in a city for personal reasons, but it is for the lifestyle and people rather than big ideals. It can also be seen as a cope out of sorts. When it comes to climate challenges the way to have an impact is to get a PhD in climatology or related and do impactful work, become a successful politician, activist etc. Getting a garden and planting some salad is irrelevant, we are still a non-factor but impacted by the “big world” whether we hide from it or not. Actually I sometimes wander what is even more ecological- big cities or eco communes? The later are healthier for ourselves, but are they better for the environment? In a city we get stacked vertically in small apartments, taking minuscule amounts of ground area per person, are fed by efficiency focused agricultural machinery maximising yields per area, everything needed is concentrated and accessible by public transport or even by foot. In an eco utopia where everyone would have a house in a rural area and a field to feed the family the amount of land used per person must be much bigger, and couldn’t access anything without turning the truck on, therefore the potential to disrupt the environment seem actually bigger? Just guessing though, I don’t know for sure and never put it all into exact numbers. But for as much as I can see it atm the only way to have a positive impact is to do something within the wider system. Isolating is for our own sake, and also works only within that same (historically relatively permissive) system, would not if it crumbled. Which is fine, why not do what makes us happy, but it is IMHO not helping, changing or preparing for anything bigger than that.
I gather from reading this that city residents are living a sci-fi nightmare! Glad I am an old hippy living in the country where I can grow some of my own food and have fresh spring water year round.
