[MD] Hippies

[Platt Holden]

Hi Ant,

> Platt stated to Ham January 31st 2006:
> 
> In my book you look at a theory like you look at paintings and choose the 
> one
> you think best. Scientists like paintings filled with mathematical formulas and
> measurements. I like paintings that hint of something beyond objective
> verification -- paintings that suggest levels beyond what we fully understand.
> Or as Edgar Allan Poe put it: “to make one see or hear with shivering delight a
> sight or sound which cannot have been unfamiliar to angels.”
> 
> I would guess you experienced something like when your theory of Essence 
> fell
> into place for you. I felt like that after reading “Lila.”
> 
> We really can’t ask for much more. :-)
> 
> Ant McWatt comments:
> 
> Platt,
> 
> Very true.  In fact, I agree with nearly everything you wrote in the post 
> that the above quote was taken from.  I think it generally has good 
> responses from you to Ham’s SOM ideas on “anything goes” relativism and will be
> a post worth keeping hold of.

Thanks. Coming for you I consider that a high compliment indeed. :-)

> However, there is just one sticking point in this post where you sound a bit
> like a right-wing caricature (maybe Cartman from the cartoon series “South
> Park”?).  You also said:
> 
> “‘Better Red than dead’ was the cry of 60’s Hippies. Had that idea 
> prevailed, I
> doubt if you and I would be having this conversation today.”
> 
> Let’s say my eyes looked up in the air when I first read this phrase.  
> Anyway, conflating Hippy philosophy as largely supporting Soviet communism is an
> unfair and highly misleading comment.  For instance, in his text “Hippies From A
> to Z”, Skip Stone (or is that “Stoned Skip”?), the Webmaster and Editor of
> Hippy.com, states that being a hippy is actually more to do with the MOQ
> emphasis on freedom and an openness to new experiences than anything else:
> 
> “Let’s see what defines a hippie. Some say it’s the way people dress, and 
> behave, a lifestyle. Others classify drug users and rock ‘n’ roll fans or 
> those with certain radical political views as hippies. The dictionary 
> defines a hippie as one who doesn’t conform to society’s standards and 
> advocates a liberal attitude and lifestyle. Can all these definitions be 
> right?”
> 
> “It seems to me that these definitions [and Platt’s] miss the point. By 
> focusing on the most visible behavioral traits these limited descriptions 
> fail to reveal what lies in the hippie heart that motivates such behavior. To
> understand The Way of the Hippy, we must look at those circumstances that
> preceded the birth of the hippy movement, the important events that changed our
> lives, our resulting frustration with society, and the philosophy that developed
> from our spiritual maturation.”
> 
> “My view is that being a hippie is a matter of accepting a universal belief
> system that transcends the social, political, and moral norms of any established
> structure, be it a class, church, or government

> 
> [Exactly and watching Fox News/ listening to old Rush isn’t going to help 
> achieve this independent state of mind!]
> 
> “Each of these powerful institutions has its own agenda for controlling, 
> even enslaving people. Each has to defend itself when threatened by real or
> imagined enemies. So we see though history a parade of endless conflicts with
> country vs. country, religion vs. religion, class vs. class. After millennia of
> war and strife, in which uncounted millions have suffered, we have yet to rise
> above our petty differences.”
> 
> “The way of the hippie is antithetical to all repressive hierarchical power
> structures since these are adverse to the hippie goals of peace, love and
> freedom. This is why the ‘Establishment’ feared and suppressed the hippie
> movement of the ‘60s, as it was a revolution against the established order. It
> is also the reason why the hippies were unable to unite and overthrow the system
> since they refused to build their own power base. Hippies don’t impose their
> beliefs on others. Instead, hippies seek to change the world through reason and
> by living what they believe.”
> 
> “To be a hippie you must believe in peace as the way to resolve differences
> among peoples, ideologies and religions. The way to peace is through love and
> tolerance. Loving means accepting others as they are, giving them freedom to
> express themselves and not judging them based on appearances. This is the core
> of the hippie philosophy.”
> 
> Above all, note the following:
> 
> “The hippy movement erected signposts for all to see. Some warn us of 
> impending danger, others direct us towards richer, more fulfilling lives, 
> but most show us the road to freedom. Freedom is the paramount virtue in 
> this system. Freedom to do as one pleases, go where the flow takes you, and to
> be open to new experiences. This engenders an attitude that allows for maximum
> personal growth.”
> 
> (http://hippy.com/hippyway.htm)
> 
> The above analysis sounds to me more like an anti-thesis to the repressive
> ideology of the Soviet regimes (that we both don’t want to see back again). 
> However, when I hear about America and Communists, it always makes me think of
> another repressive ideology that I hope never to see again: namely McCarthy and
> his witch hunts and the resulting cultural “stink” that encouraged free thinking
> people like Robert Pirsig to leave the States in the 1950s.  Now had McCarthy
> and his RIGHT-WING colleagues completely prevailed, I also doubt “that you and I
> would be having this conversation today”.
 
Regarding Hippies I need not quote to you Pirsig's analysis of why their 
revolution failed.. And I know of no one on the right or left that doesn't want 
peace. The question is "At what price?" Which leads me to ask what you think we 
ought to do about Iran? 

Best regards,
Platt