Hippies

In the 1960s and 1970s there was a huge counter-culture movement of young people from all across the United States. They fought for women’s rights and African-Americans’ rights; they protested against the war in Viet Nam; they experimented with all kinds of mind altering drugs. These people were called hippies. Then, starting sometime in the 1990s and still very much alive today, there came the children and grandchildren of these so-called hippies in a new movement. They started making visible efforts to save the environment; they started working to not pollute the air; they started eating healthier and encouraged others to do the same. This new generation wanted to make a name for themselves, but they ended up being called by the same name which their parents had been called: hippies. That brings up a question then: what really is a hippie' Are the [often violent] druggies of the middle of the century the true hippies' Or are their clean-aired modern children the real ones' The answer (drum roll please) is…both! A hippie is open-minded and active in reaching their goals. They do what they think is right and avoid whatever they feel is wrong. Generally hippies believe that all people—whether black and white, male and female—are equal. And in past decades they really had to fight for that belief. Hippies are also usually against wars, and even now they work hard to protest them. In modern days hippies tend to be very environmentally aware, so they recycle, avoid plastics, and do what they can to reduce toxic air emissions. Too often hippies get a bad reputation for doing drugs. Sometimes they are also associated with transcendentalism and the powers in inanimate objects. This is not always true, though. Yes, hippies do often partake in drug use, and many a hippie believe in alternative powers. But those are not necessarily criteria to be a hippie. Just because someone is a druggie does not mean that they are also a hippie. And just because someone believes in the powers of crystals and opening chakras does not make them a hippie. However, whether a hippie believes in these things or not, when they deal with these, as with all situations, they meet it open-mindedly. It might be noted that liberals are very similar to what has been described as a hippie. Hippies are, in fact, liberals. Not all liberals are hippies, though. The difference is that hippies are proactive. They fight to the end until what they believe is right happens or they go down fighting. Not all liberals are like that. That is the most important thing about hippies. While many people may dress or talk like one, if they are not actively working in the world for what is right, then they are just miserable wanna-bes. But who would want to be one of those'