Hippies: You Dig??

Maybe, just maybe, it was preordained by the date of my birth. I was born on December 8, 1965. And, on that date, the Beatles released their groundbreaking album, ''Rubber Soul''. This album took the Fab Four up several notches in quality and originality. The songs were grown-up, sophisticated. They spoke adult themes for their rapidly growing audience. The subjects were about love. Love lost. Love found. And, embracing the all-emcompassing feeling of love that humans should share with each other. This album, one of their finest, could be the signpost for the next stop for the Baby Boom generation [ which goes synonymous with being a Beatles fan ] that was growing into adulthood. That next stop was the ''Hippie Generation''....... I joyfully enjoyed this summer. The weather was perfect by my standards--- a few hot days, but, a nice, cool, sunny autumn-like day--- seemed to be the norm. I live in shorts and short-sleeved shirts during this time. And, as we know, this area gets pelted with bad weather a good six months of every year. So, I gratefully embraced this summer and all of its trimmings..... Now, I also adapted into a half-serious persona as a ''hippie''. I have many friends of different age groups-- some younger, some older---- and my older, hipster friends still carry the torch of anti-establishment. They do not trust the government [ which, by the way, is not exclusively a generational feeling ] and they still believe the simple pleasures in life are worth grooving over. I like the mindset of these people. They never sold out. They still light their incense and other things I should not mention. They have the old hippie mantra down: '' Love is all you need'' and all of its utopian feelings. Sure, they work and have become part of the establishment in order to survive, but, they still follow the spirit of their hearts. Criticize and laugh at them being naive, but, they have a sweetness and gentleness that the world should have more of. And, they also have great parties, too!!!!...... I have always prided myself as having straddled both the culture and the counterculture. Imagine a line down the middle of humanity. I have one foot on one side with the ''straights'', and, another foot on the side of the '' hippies''. I go whichever way the wind blows me on any given certain day or situation. I like getting down with the bikers, rebels, people who might be out on good behavior from another life. I can spit and swear and guzzle their beer with the best of them. The women are free expression women, unafraid of societies boundaries and tastes. And, then I have the other side I associate with. I can converse with an executive and pillar of the community. I can go to the baseball games and high-class social affairs. I can date the classy woman and take her out and show her the town. I firmly am grounded on both sides of life, whether to ''get down and howl at the moon'' or, ''talk shit with the suits.'' Its a nice balance....... But, the hippie thing has always fascinated me. Go back to the mid-1960's when it started. At first, the movement was focused in on two worthwhile goals: Civil Rights and ending the war in Vietnam. Eventually, the tenacity of this group made those goals realistic and they got what they wanted. I applaud the efforts. However, the good intentions and noble causes soon sank into the darkness of drug abuse and alienation from society. Also, there was some who just went along for the ride because it was the fashionable thing to do. These followers, mostly white, college age, who never felt the hardships that minorities and the poor they were ''championing'' went through, put on their funny hippie clothes, dropped acid, blasted Hendrix, and then went back to their cozy lives when the times were a changing. They had their fling at playing the radical and baiting the ''squares''. Then, it was dinner time, or, the interview with ''Merrill Lynch'' called, and, the whole merry prankster look went into the closet. Meanwhile, the true hippies, the ones that didn't have the trust funds and perfect, easy futures ahead of them, fought the battle on the front lines. They were the people who hated and protested the war [ again, minorities and the poor without draft deferments] and, yet, were sent off to fight, some never returning back alive. These were the true believers who had the best intentions, but, were victimized by all facets of society. They were exploited and conned. They believed the slogans, but, were unaware that the leaders of their movement were lining their own pockets and setting themselves up for the bright future [ Jerry Rubin, Mr. ''Yippie Leader, Don't Trust Anyone Over Thirty'', soon became a Wall Street tycoon]. Some went on with their lives. And, some didn't. I remember going to Haight-Ashbury in 1996, a good 30 years after the hippie movement had started. I was expecting some sort of spirit still around, albeit in modern, calmer times. What I saw was depressing. It was a slum. Many homeless people. Drug addiction ran rampant.Whatever spirit of the revolution was being hocked and hustled in nearby ''head shops'' that played into the fantasy of a long-ago time...... But, that was the downside. I like to focus on the good side. There was a strong vibe in the air then, a sense of anything is possible that the young always have. Some of the drugs did expand some minds and opened up a hidden fortress for some people [ let us remember that ''LSD'' was invented by the ''CIA'' in the forties to control minds ]. I am not advocating anything for anybody. Everyone should have the free will to do what they want, but, drugs were always a strong part of this period. There was also the feeling of loving everybody and accepting people on their own terms as human beings. People looked beyond ethnic and social backgrounds to find harmony with each other. There was much learning and patience towards your fellow man and woman. They realized that the only way we, as a people, can ever get along in peace, was to find common ground with each other. Prejudice must be abolished for us to go forward. It was a small spark lit of human understanding, but, it was a start. Since all groups in the world share this world, then we must all come together for its survival. For this is the most important thing facing us throughout the years: loving and caring for each other. The hippies embraced it fully. It may be their greatest legacy........ As was the music, that great music!!! For a rock lover like myself, it was an orgasmic sound. The hippie movement had the ''West Coast Sound'' as their soundtrack to the lives they were leading. You had Jimi and Jim and Janis. You had the Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. The Beatles rocked the way from England, and, they brought along with them the Stones, The Who, Procol Harem. All music expressing the turmoil of the times and the feelings of uncertainty. There were two music festivals that cemented that feeling in the air: ''Monterey Pop'' in 1967, and, ''Woodstock'' in 1969. ''Woodstock'' always gets the high marks as the top of the mountain because it was at the end of the 60's and seemed to summon up all of what the movement was saying. I love ''Woodstock'', but, if I had to choose, I would have gone to ''Monterey''....... It was the time when the hippie culture first gained prominance. These were innocent times, the zenith of ''we can change the world''. Hard drugs had yet to destroy the generations heroes. ''Flower Power'' was felt among the youth. the word ''love'' was uttered so often during this period that it was later rightly lampooned. But, it is the only honest feeling at the time. People sat with each other, smiling contently, as the sun shined, the sky was blue, it was beautiful, and so were you. The concert was organized by the record producer, Lou Adler, and the genius behind ''The Mamas And The Papas'', John Phillips. They lined up Simon and Garfunkal, The Who, Hendrix, and Joplin. The Airplane flew, along with the Dead boys. David Crosby preached love from the stage and also the Kennedy Assasination [ you can't have a counterculture concert without political statements ]. There was a gentleness to the concert, innocence bred with the hope for the future. Sitting in the grass--- always the favorite spot for a hippie--- embracing all of humanity, while you were flying on your own personal ''trip'', somehow, brought forth the love of the heart. While future hippie get togethers would preach peace and understanding, this was the only mass gathering of the faithful who truly did follow the script. All you truly needed was love....... Like any great time, it had its ending. Eras are just that, a short span of time to embrace the moment and then move on. Death, due to war or self-abuse, claimed many. As a person grows older, you begin to sadly note the obvious: that many people are not worth saving. Some just don't hold up their end to the human spirit. They are the exploiters and the greedy. They also are the lazy and the violent. The ideals of the hippie movement were corrupted by many of these people, and, the feeling died away. My hippie friends still follow the code of that time, that other world, but, even they sadly do it with some suspicion in their eyes. It can be said that the hippie experience was one, long, dress-up party, where a splendid time was guaranteed for all. However, as with any party, morning comes with a hangover and cleaning up to do....... I had my hippie summer. It was different than those long-ago times because the times are different and I am a modern person trained to modern times. Yes, you can go camping for the weekend or go to the concert that covers you in mud and pretend, just for a while, that you are channeling the times and the spirit of those who did it for real. There is a lot to make fun of and valid criticism to level at the hippies. But, at heart, their message was the message that all humans should have, the message, I beleive, that God himself would give us: Love each other........