KATHERINE MARIE DIFILIPPO
Love or Haight?
"I've
been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one. And I believe
it could be, someday it's going to come." Although
Cat Stevens's lyrics
from the song "Peace Train" may not be familiar,
the era from which they
came will never be forgotten. Full of new and interesting
ideas, the "hip-
pies" of the 1960s and 1970s left a lasting impact on
the world as we see it
today. Thanks to them, we've expanded our views on issues
involving
our environment, our government, and even our personal
decisions. So
why have they been given such an immoral reputation in
the past
25 years? The hippies of
both the past and the present continue to make
a positive mark on our society.
According to the majority
of dictionaries published in the past 20
years, hippie is a slang term defined as a young person,
especially in the
1960s, who, in a state of
alienation from conventional society, turned
variously to mysticism, psychedelic drugs, and communal living
(Agnes
291). Other
reference sources characterize hippies as devoted rock and
roll fans who showed their rebellious attitudes by having
promiscuous
sex, wearing tie-dyed clothing, and not cutting their
hair (Johnson and
Woloch). While
both of these definitions do characterize some of the hip-
pies of the 1960s and 1970s, it is unfair to assume that
all of those who
were active in the hippie movement based their lives on
sex, drugs, rock
and roll, and long hair.
Beginning in 1965 with
the full-scale entrance of the
into the Vietnam War, a group of people sometimes referred
to as "the
hippies" began to show their faces in society. The most
famous group of
them gathered in the
but eventually almost every
colony. Whether they opposed the use of nuclear weaponry in
or the whole idea of going there or having their sons,
brothers, hus-
bands, and boyfriends go in order to fight, all of them
agreed that the
conflict in
violence. Hippies also became active when it came to
environmental
issues. Because of the increased use of environmentally
damaging
substances in war as well as the overall mistreatment of earth
by humans,
hippies once again became well known for protests, this time
involving
protection of the earth's natural resources. Eventually their
voices came
together on
joined in a campaign against governmental, as well as
individual, abuse
of the environment. We now observe this day each year as
Earth Day
Thanks to the hippies'
demonstrations, awareness of the threats to the
natural world has become much more widespread in American
culture.
Hippies were also strong
supporters of individual freedom. They believed
that the more freedom a person possessed the more personal
growth he
or she could experience. More often than not, the
hippies abandoned the
nine-to-five lifestyle that the everyday American was following
and lived
in a way that allowed them to survive without being a
slave to "the sys-
tem." In fact, the hippies of the 1960s and 1970s
were realistic and cautious
people who demanded that certain important issues be
noticed.
Today, there are many
movements similar to those of the 1960s and 4
1970s. In
a sense, the hippies of yesterday have been transformed into the
hippies of today Although the ideas may have changed
somewhat, they
still radiate from the same basic concepts. Like the
original hippies,
today's hippies are engaged by the idea of resolving
conflicts peacefully
rather than through violence. Their philosophy in general
seems to be
based on the idea of loving everyone, including mother
earth. This leads
to another principle that many hippies agree upon. What
better way to
eliminate quarrels than to eliminate the groups that quarrel?
Through
history we have seen continuous conflicts between religions,
countries,
and other social and political groups. Many hippies feel
that established
institutions such as church and government are harmful to human
be-
ings
and cause disputes that could be avoided. They disagree with the
ideas of conventional society, and therefore do not
acknowledge the au-
thority of these institutions in their lives.
A hippie is not a drug
user. A hippie is not a rock and roll fan. A hip-
pie is neither someone who dresses according to a certain
code nor one
who lives a certain lifestyle. A hippie is not
fashionable. A hippie is nei-
ther
a conformist nor a liberal. A hippie is neither psychedelic nor
"spaced
out." A hippie is not dirty. A hippie is not hairy. A hippie is nei-
ther
outspoken nor a troublemaker. Today, a hippie is someone who rec-
ognizes a way to make the world a better place, plans how to change it,
and acts for the betterment of humankind.
Word associations may
change through time, but the basic idea of a
word never changes. The way that hippie was used in 1969
in the midst of
the Vietnam War is slightly different from the way we use
it today This
does not make the word any less significant, though. The
issues that the
hippies called attention to during the 1960s and 1970s are
problems that
we still face today. It is imperative that our
generation continue to ad-
dress these problems and carry on the tradition that our
predecessors
began. Being a hippie is not about putting a flower in your
hair and
dancing around in your bare feet. Being a hippie means
approaching
life's obstacles in a way that promotes freedom, peace,
love, and respect
for our earth and all of humankind.
Works Cited
Agnes, Michael, ed.
Webster's
Johnson,
Paul E., and Nancy Woloch. "
Gary Alt. 2000.
Reading Closely
1. What did you learn
about being a hippie from Difilippo's essay? What
did you already know? From reading this essay, has your
opinion about
what it means to be a hippie changed or stayed the same?
Why?
2. Working with two or
three classmates, list all the words and
phrases Difilippo uses to define
hippie. Prepare a brief report to share
with the rest of the class.
5. How does the visual
help extend Difilippo's definition?
Considering Larger Issues
1. What is Difilippo's thesis statement? What assertions does she
supply to
support or extend the thesis? What supporting material does
she offer to
support her assertions?