I'm confused as to why there is so much hatred towards hippies in the past few years. Everybody in my school is all like oooh hippies, stupid f*ckin tree huggers. I just dont get why they're so ignorant. Just recently I've noticed a surge of hatred though, actually as of this year. I think it's fueled by the hip-hop crowd. Their values totally collide with ours. They are greedy, capitolistic, rude and not to mention violent. And we are peacefull, non materialistic beings. What do you think old hippy? I hope you can inspire me.
Peace
This is a question I've asking myself recently. I think you hit the nail on the head when you pointed out how our values collide with the hippie haters. Our mere existence not to mention colorful presence causes what's known as psychological dissonance. We represent an alternative to mainstream thinking and values and thus a challenge to all those who accept the status quo.
The pressure to conform, especially in American society has never been greater in my lifetime. It's similar to the 50's when everyone was expected to graduate high school and college, get a 9-5, get married, have 2.5 kids and move to the suburbs. Back then there were far fewer options around too.
Now we have a Republican administration, and this kind of thinking thrives when the country's leaders are conservative cowboys who promote war and violence as a solution to the world's most intractible problems. Add to this the terrorist hysteria, the fucked-up economy, the broken dreams, the ecological catastrophes just around the corner, and you have a situation ripe for dividing the country into opposite camps.
The media is also to blame. I cannot believe how much violence I see everyday in TV, rock videos, movies, even on my street (today it's endless loud fireworks for New Years). This has taken its toll in several generations, who now see violence as a normal human expression, something to be expected and returned, tit for tat.
For a real contrast, I recently watched the movie "Mary Poppins", which I hadn't seen since I was a kid. I was amazed at how slickly they had inserted such now extinct values in the movie as respect for elders, politeness, anti-capitalist values, in fact it's a complete homage to personal freedom and creativity. You rarely see that anymore in the movies or on TV.
The level of violence and the sheer quantity of it blows me away. The public has been led to believe that violence in the media doesn't translate to actual violence. This is A BIG LIE. It is pure brainwashing, and so it doesn't surprise me to see so many people willing to kill others, even innocent people, just out of revenge. It's truly sick.
Of course hippies will always be in the minority, but again, just the fact that we exist, that we are willing to explore and present alternative ideas and solutions means that all these war-mongers and greedy capitalists must address these very important issues that they would rather ignore in their quest for money and power.
So don't dismay that we are hated by some, (perhaps feared is closer to the truth), because we serve to enlighten and challenge the status quo. As long as we speak out and don't hide our true feelings we can preserve our freedoms to do just that. If we retreat in silence we may never again have the right to stand up to the powerful and tell it like it is.
The next few years will make a big difference for our collective future. We are almost beyond the point of no return. Many of those young people with their short hair, (some bald now), waving their flags, shouting patriotic slogans, will soon end up dead on some distant battlefield. So feel sorry for them, and pray we don't all end up dead.
Peace, hopefully,
the Old Hippy
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