The other night I was watching TV and saw an ad by, I think, Hyundai. A pleasant-looking young man was driving his new car. The narrator was complimenting him on his intelligence, discerning taste, and environmentalism for choosing Hyundai. The young man looked at the camera (narrator,) smiled, and while flipping his long hair, said (as the tag line) “Just because I have long hair doesn’t mean I’m a hippie!” WTF was that supposed to mean?
I found myself cringe. What was the hidden message? Certainly not complimentary to hippies. In fact, the hidden message was that hippies had qualities opposite those of that long haired driver. This drives me nuts. Forty-five years later, and still, the word hippie has a negative connotation. As far as I’m concerned, this is revisionist history and it must stop. And it has to stop with you, my dear reader.
Because of people’s ignorance, and the media’s obsession with focusing on the negative, it seems, even after all these years, “hippie” is still a dirty word. I had hoped Hunga Dunga would give redemption to the word and the movement.
Peace, love, respect for the earth, recognizing the connectedness of all beings to each other and nature, celebrating life, living in the now, being less judgmental, less greedy, more socially conscious… these are not bad values to live by. These were and are the values by which hippies tried to live. These are the values, that had they been embraced by the US for the last 4 decades, we might not find ourselves in the situation we are today. These are values we need to live by NOW!
“Just because I have long hair, doesn’t mean I’m a peacenik.” Well what the hell is wrong with working for peace?
“Just because I have long hair, doesn’t mean I’m a tree-hugger.” Well, people, you’d better be hugging those trees, (especially in the Amazon basin) if you want your kids to have clean air and enjoy nature.
“Just because I have SHORT hair, doesn’t mean I’m Not a hippie.” Well, now you’re talking. Hippie is a state of mind, a worldview, an inherent desire to expand our consciousnesses, experience our own divinity, and once and for all, live in harmony with the world.
The moral: Only through an observation of nature can we learn the truth. Only through the observation of a person’s actions can we know their beliefs. Only through an exploration of our innermost being, can we rid ourselves of greed, prejudice, intolerance, war, and LABELS! It’s time to get holy again, and I don’t mean by going to church!
The Unapologetic Hippie 