What Makes Hippies So Great?
An Essay By Maxine

Picture this. For all your life, you've been bound by the shackles of an establishment
which does not understand you, does not care for you, and is not interested in you- or,
for that matter, in anything or anyone else but itself, and its revenue. You are nothing but a statistic, a number, a blot on a landscape. You are surrounded by people with an appreciation for only the trivial, the insignificant the 'today'. 'Tomorrow', more specifically, the impact of today's actions upon tomorrow, is seldom discussed.

Meanwhile, across the world, people and creatures are tortured and exploited, the
natural environment robbed of all its riches. You're seeing things no-one else seems to
be seeing. It's all in your head. The situation you, just by existence, have found
yourself in renders you a small crumb left on a dinner plate. You probably don't have to picture this, because, for you, for most people, it's real. It's life. But does it need to be?

Now picture something else. An environment that encourages self-expression, strives
for freedom, and in which everything possible is done in an attempt to achieve peace.
An environment where the question is not 'why?', but 'why not?' and not, 'if?' but
'how?' and 'when?' An environment where you are not only listened to and treated
like the person you are, but where you want to listen. An environment where paths, like minds, are open, and you are given the free will to travel them as, when and how you wish. Where you are judged upon who you are, and who you may become, not who you were. Picture the freedom to make your own mistakes, shape your own life, and help other people to improve theirs. 

Mix the 'today' of thoughts, love, drugs, life, with the concern for the 'tomorrow'- the
world as your children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on, will see it.
Experience a movement which gave people their sexual and moral freedom, and
changed the outlook of so many. A movement which evolves continuously, will stop at
no generation, and will continue to embrace new ideas and gather new wisdom in aid
of the creation of a better world, and better lives for its people and its creatures. 
Discover a movement which, far from being naive and inconsequential, will equip you
with the skills to question what you see....from straightforward forms of authority to
large-scale capitalist enterprises, that are often naive, but sadly never inconsequential.
This movement, whilst making no task seem any easier than it is, and having no
illusions about the magnitude of tasks, presses for change and believes that, at some
point, somehow, on whatever scale, change is always possible.
Despite spending all of its existence under the influence of painful stereotypes by
outsiders, the movement defies stereotypes, seeing what is there instead of what others
would have expected.

Above all, picture a movement which defends nature against all forms of human
arrogance, valuing the world and its resources above the money-making dreams and
schemes of careless individuals. This movement is no figure of the imagination, nor is
it the relic of a distant past. It is here. In an ideal world, this movement would not *be* a movement, but an entire civilization But don't wait. Step forward, grab your seat on the Magic Bus and get ready for the trip of a lifetime!

~THE END~

What I think is so great about hippies is their open mindedness and 
non-judgmental attitude toward others. It seems everywhere one looks one can 
see hatred, intolerance, violence, just turn on the news, the list goes on 
and on. I think what a lot of hippies don't like is the constant judging 
that goes on in our society and the pressure to be supposedly "normal" (i.e. 
working at a 9-5 job that they hate, materialistic over consumption of 
products that they don't need etc...). I mean face it, we all come from the 
same source, whether you want to call that source God, Buddha, Allah, a 
higher power or whatever your interpretation of God is. We're all unique and 
beautiful individuals and I think hippies try to point out that it shouldn't 
matter what they wear or who they love, it's who they are on the inside that 
really matters (yes, I know this is a common refrain, but it's a hard idea to 
get across).
Now, having said all of that, the things that I personally like about 
the hippy movement is the music, the writings, just the overall creativity 
and good vibes that it creates. It's very much about positivity rather than 
negativity and trying to be positive is a much greater challenge in life it 
seems. A lot of people want you in the gutter with them and that's 
unfortunate.
On the flip side, the only negative aspect I find about the hippy 
movement (and I know I will get a lot of flak for this and many, many, many 
people won't agree with me on this.) is the drugs & drug use that are often associated with the hippy movement. Now, I know a lot of people have had tremendous insights gained from their drug experiences etc..., but what I'm talking about is the fact (and I've given this a lot of thought, believe it or not) that we're given these magnificent bodies at 
birth and we continue to pollute them in such a way, it's incredible. I'm 
not just talking about drugs, but the processed foods we consume, the 
cigarettes we smoke, the alcohol we imbibe. I know vegetarianism and eating 
raw, organic food is part of the hippy movement and for that I applaud it, 
but I just think putting anything else in our bodies (other than natural food 
or "God food" if you will) is an insult to God in a way. I mean if you 
really think about how our bodies have the ability to heal themselves 
(bruises heal, broken bones knit back together), the way a human being is 
created, how our brains work, our senses etc..., I mean it's amazing! It's 
been said that our bodies are suppose to last a lot longer than they 
currently do and it's surprising how our bodies continue to function day in 
and day out with all the unnatural stuff that it's forced to process. That's 
really the only thing I have a problem with in the hippy movement and that's 
just my personal opinion. Some people can use drugs recreationally and not 
have a problem. For other's it becomes self destructive. My main point is 
that if you respect and care about yourself you'll only want the best things 
for you and your body (eating healthy, exercising, meditating etc...). I've 
seen nothing positive about taking drugs. But I digress...
In an ideal world there would be no labels, people wouldn't feel the 
need to judge each other to try and make themselves feel better (face it, if 
you're comfortable/happy with yourself why would you need to tear others 
down? You wouldn't . You'd be happy with your own life and excited about 
what you were doing), protecting the environment would be our #1 concern, 
we'd try to lift each other up, rather than tear each other down and we'd 
realize that love is all that matters. So, in a nutshell, what's so great 
about hippies and the hippy movement? It's that it recognizes the oneness of 
all people and all things, it's positive, it's creative, it tries to be 
productive rather than destructive, it sees the good in things rather than 
the bad and much, much more. All of us are so much more than we realize and 
one person can truly make a difference. It just begins with one step. Peace, 
love and happiness to all!

PEACE,
~Natasha

 Well, that’s a bit like asking, “What’s so great about the moon and the stars and the sun"? As the man said, well, “They all shine on”, and in their ways, hippies have been a light to steer by and a space to breath within.
 In my high school in Atlanta, GA, in the sixties, the ruling parties were the football jocks and the debaters. Senior year, a new kid showed up with long hair named Scott, recently arrived Vermont.  Not only did he have long hair, play the guitar and write poetry, he also took regular classes, sang in the chorus, skied, and entered cheerfully into the life of the school. Of course, one of the rednecks taunted him until they had a fight, which involved Scott getting punched a few times.  After the fight, however, the guy’s antagonism evaporated: Scott had seen him all along as misguided.  After graduation, Scott moved in with his girl friend and took a job as a garbage man to pay for their tiny apartment overlooking Piedmont Park. 
 Scott tried to walk a lighter path.  He and Brian and Andy and others tried to live more freely: some dressed colorfully, funkily, and comfortably; some wore sandals; some wore boots; some did not wear bras; some wore costumes.  They lived in the woods and in the wilds; they lived on communes and they lived in tiny apartments.  They did menial, underground jobs and created an underground economy.  While some “hippies” may have been strident, humorless, spoiled, and self-serving, and selfish, others found a way to live quietly and gently and peacefully with others and with the Earth.  These ways became known as the environmental movement, female liberation, the greening of America, natural childbirth, and the peace movement—to name a few. 
 Hippies have become a quiet example of living a good life. I know from time to time, it does me good to read in Richard Brautigan’s In Watermelon Sugar that the narrator says, “I am living a gentle life”, and check out my life. Is it gentle and light?  Is it right and centered? Is my son seeing an adult who is peaceful in his heart and work and life? Hippies remind me of what real options are out there. 

Hippies stood up and proclaimed their independence from the ideals
of their parents. They expressed views, wore clothes, grew their hair
long and enspoused ideas that were unpopular and quite radical. They
longed for meaning and understanding in a world that gives us so little
of either. Peace, Love, Harmony all abstract ideals were the watch words
of the hippie and this abstractness was reflected in hippie art, poetry,
music, and attitude. But regardless of the seemingly futility of such
pursuits they seemed to have struck a nerve that effected the whole
nation. Their views on the war in Viet Nam ultimately swayed public
opinion and influenced how the government proceeded with the war. Hippie
ideals have influenced every aspect of thought, music, and attitudes
since, and are still saturating the world with their message of peace
today

David Shaw

Kay`leigh Emerson

I don't feel like there is not any sense for me to write about our great
achievements since those are the things people at Hippyland mostly talk
about. I'd thought I'd take a bit different view of this. I hope it has
enough to do with the subject.

The hippies in the 60's sure gave the world many great things, they
'invented' free love, they cared about the earth and other people, protested
the war. There were many other things too. Though they didn't get everything
finished they showed others what could have been done if we'd just try a
li'l bit harder.
But after all for some reason it didn't work out for too long; other people
weren't ready for any too big change ("of course it's not right to destroy
our planet or kill people, but well what can I do about it?") - will they
ever be? a little voice in my head sighs.
Many of the things hippies fought for back then have really got better,
slowly, but better anyway.

Many young people have now taken the hippie view points, we're all different
and see it bit differently, but anyway it doesn't matter that much since
we're for peace and love.
It is just that too many of us live with memories, their own or the ones
they've heard. How everything was so great in the 60's; the music, the
people, everything.
But does it matter anymore? Does it help anymore that we stopped one war
back then when new ones seem to start at least once a week?
Yes I'm being sort of cynical but so is the world. The problems are now
worse than in the 60's but people don't just seem to notice it.

So be proud that you can call yourself hippie and be happy about that. Be
proud that you can wear all great clothes, listen great music, show peace
signs to people and not be ashamed any of this. But do not forget why we
were here in the old days and why we are still here; to make world a
positive and better place to live for us and our kids.

By daizy 

Hippies believe in peace, love and freedom and they continue inspiring many 
people who believe and work for the same values. The world isn't an ideal 
pleace to live, but hippies opened doors and changed for ever more than one 
preconceived idea. Their clothes, music, beliefs and culture are an example 
of freedom. They made a mistake of consume drugs, but the legacy is more 
than that.

-Maria