Where have all the hippies gone?

BY CHERI RAE
When Barack Obama recently appeared in Santa Barbara, addressing an enthusiastic crowd at Santa Barbara City College, in nearly the same spot where Bill Clinton spoke several years ago, he was charismatic, compassionate, smart, persuasive, hopeful, strong, and even funny. At the outset, he commented on the beauty of the surroundings, and surveying the crowd, observed that amongst the cross-section of those who had come to hear him there were even a few hippies in attendance. He joked that he didn’t think there were any hippies anymore.

True, you don’t often see groups of long-haired, tie-dyed, gentle spirits just hanging out, grooving on the vibe of peace, love and understanding. Bell bottoms and granny glasses may be gone, the let-it-all-hang-out behavior is long-gone, and even most of the music has passed from the scene.
And we children of the Sixties may look at our photo albums with a bit of embarrassment mixed with nostalgia and wistfulness, back to a time when we believed in our collective duty to make a difference. We had a war to end, and an environment to save; we cared about corporate corruption, political shenanigans and media madness—and some of us never stopped.
The movement was always about much more than appearances; the reality is that hippie ideals are still in evidence: they’ve just cleaned up, changed clothes and gone main stream. Much has changed, in our revved-up technological society that moves faster than we ever could have imagined back in those days. They may not look the same or even sound the same, but hippie values are now even stronger than ever.

Politics: Those of us who were raised on Watergate have no patience with government officials—local and national—who betray the public trust. With increased scrutiny and instantaneous news cycles, we question authority even more closely. We may expect more of our representatives than ever, and have even less tolerance when they stumble or fall. We may no longer chain ourselves to bulldozers, stage sit-ins or believe in the effectiveness of protest marches; today, we testify in hearing rooms, write letters to the editor, participate in blogs and stand up in public to make our voices heard and our views expressed.

Health Care: Individuals advocating for universal health care refer back to the days of free clinics when everyone was treated regardless of condition or ability to pay. The fundamental belief that access to quality medical treatment should not depend on the patient’s job or income originated long before it was embraced by the current crop of politicians.

Education: The college kids who spent some of their time on campus in teach-ins or protesting the relevancy of certain classes nevertheless embraced the notion of learning as a lifelong activity. Today, we advocate actively for a good education for our own kids and grandkids, as well as for all children in the community. Some have founded alternative schools, and others are great teachers who implement innovative techniques despite the restrictions of No Child Left Behind.

Environment: The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970—a consciousness-raising activity that was planned in large part as a positive way to commemorate the horrendous oil spill that occurred in Santa Barbara the year before. “Love Your Mother Earth” was the motto of the day, and the belief in a personal connection to the earth, and how individual choices matter—from consumer purchases to food intake, recycling to gardening—was commonly accepted, long before anyone talked about global warming.

War: The cry to end a quagmire of a war and bring the troops home, sadly, did not originate in the past few years. Those of us who remember Vietnam—in person or as it was brought home to us nightly on television and in the broken lives of our returning friends and family who served—have been horrified to witness the current international debacle from which there is no simple solution. Yet we keep trying the “give peace a chance.”

Economics: “Small is Beautiful,” was more than just a book that defined the times, it was a philosophy that defined the style of life that embraces the notion that there’s enough for all if all don’t take too much. Distrust of corporate culture led to the embrace of entrepreneurship and small business ownership as a cherished value—for the creativity and soul enriching work that comes from putting ideas and products into the marketplace, and enriching the lives of others in the process.
So love beads and Nehru jackets, headbands and even “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” may be gone (thankfully) forever, but even in today’s chi-chi Santa Barbara, parts of the hippie movement never left at all. I’m glad candidate Obama paid attention when he came to town.

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