In Between

I was born in 1967 so I guess I’m technically member of the Gen X generation. However, when I was around 13 I was introduced to what I view as the Hippie Generation.

At 13 I, for the first time, watched the movie “Hair”. I had heard about hippies and some of their beliefs before I watched the movie, of course, but this was the first time I witnessed the hippie culture visually.

Watching the movie, I found that I agreed with many of their beliefs. I believe in loving one another and bringing peace to the world as well as being forgiving. I could understand their objections to the Vietnam War but did not agree with the ostracizing of the vets that returned.

The ones recruited had no choice but to join the military. They had no choice but to fight and kill in this war that honestly the US has no reason to be involved in. I admire the ones that didn’t dodge the draft orders for enlistment.

Like I have already said I hold many of their beliefs to be true but that doesn’t mean that I was ever naïve enough to believe that the beliefs could actually be taken to the level that this young culture thought they could.

Although it’s true that if everyone loved everyone else there would be peace to the world. The concept is just not possible. A person can love some of the people that come into their lives however we have to face that there are just some people that can’t or won’t allow themselves to be loved.

As for communal living, that too is a great concept but due to human nature is just not possible on a large scale. Humans naturally will create a hierarchy within a group. This is also why true communism cannot exist.

Forgiveness, in my viewpoint, is also a tricky one. Although some people can find forgiveness within themselves,
memories remain and will often return and teach you that forgiveness doesn’t take away the pain of the experience that you’ve forgiven a person for.

In conclusion, I believe that embracing the hippie culture’s belief system is a personal choice.
For example, I try to in one form or another to love the people I meet and know. With me however, if the person proves to be unlovable for me I won’t keep trying to do so.

The concept of peace is also a personal choice. By nature, I am a peaceful person but that can change as quick as a lightning flash if I am pushed into a corner and retaliation is my only way out.

I am of course a human being and therefore I’m a complicated mixture of all the lessons that I have learned.

So, am I Gen X or a hippie? Well, I guess that I am both in one body. Love or hate me, agree with me or not, I will probably always be this way and frankly I have no desire to change.