Today, the notion of a hippie has become a relic. We may have leftover music and fashion, but where can we look to find dedication to peace, respect for the individual, and the live-and-let-live attitude that was so iconic of the hippies?
Probably on your college campus. Over the past few years, hundreds of student groups have been springing up across the country touting individual rights and non-aggression. Under the guise of Young Americans for Liberty and Students for Liberty, among others, students have been reinventing the hippie culture.
Here are five key ways that hippies and libertarians are essentially the same.
1. Love, Not War:The obviousness of this doctrine as it relates to hippies makes it seem trivial. The stereotypical hippie can be seen brandishing anti-war posters and handing flowers to policemen. Libertarians, though, don’t seem to have the same reputation. Instead, the typical libertarian seems to be fervently in defense of gun rights, which many consider to be un-peaceful. Without getting into the gun rights debate, we can say that a libertarian is as anti-war as a hippie. (As an aside, there was no anti-gun consensus among hippies; some hippies are thought to have owned guns to defend their communes).
A libertarian tends to believe that wars can be avoided by taking preemptive steps against what might instigate violence. For example, the wars in the Middle East may not have happened if it were not for the rise of U.S. interventionist policy in the region. Similarly, a war with China can be avoided if we treat China like our economic partner rather than our political enemy, and if we do not make them feel as if we are threatening their sphere of influence.
Thus, like a hippie, a libertarian understands war as a dire moral dilemma, and takes great pains in avoiding it. Like a hippie, a libertarian believes that open and honest discussion between nations and sincere diplomacy are far better ways of settling international disputes.
2. Live-And-Let-Live:The lifestyle of a hippie is undoubtedly eccentric, but it is so by his preference. As long as his lifestyle doesn’t harm anyone, he believes that he should be able to smoke as much weed and have as much sex as he wants. A libertarian agrees.
Too often, specific interests groups will deem something immoral or distasteful and try to eradicate it through legislation. But the hippie and the libertarian agree that an individual needs to be able to make his own choices, so long as his decisions to not cause harm to others.
3. The Commune: The hippie is notorious for forming a commune and sharing property with his friends. This isn’t a contradiction to libertarianism, it is a concurrence. A libertarian believes in voluntary exchange of goods, and finds that communes can work in a synergetic relationship to help improve the wellbeing of those involved.
A commune is an effective, peaceful and totally voluntary way of achieving an end that might have otherwise been impossible. If you’ve ever split the bill while out to dinner with your friends, you were participating in a similar kind of exchange.
4. It’s the Man, Man: The hippie is notoriously anti-authoritative. He blames the hate and disparity in the world on the oppressive and old-school mentality of the powerful political elite. He fights to be free of the system that enslaves people to the social constraints of the time. He begs for the world to understand that deep down, he is just another person who is worthy of the same respect and understanding as any other member of society. He fights for this same respect for blacks, women, and gays. He realizes that deep down, we are all just people. So does a libertarian.
5. Revolution: Perhaps the most striking similarity between the hippie and the libertarian is the unwavering faith in the power of the minority to help transform the national culture. The hippie remains the icon of change and passion in America. The libertarian not only holds the same values as the hippie, but also the same fervor for the future.
The libertarian, like the hippie, really does believe that the world can be made a better place. And those students who are submersing themselves in the liberty movement, fighting for individual rights, and crying out for a more fair political system are just like the hippies of the 1960s. We are trying to change the world.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
Ahhhh...."Hippies" are so 1960's. That word was used to demonize the anti-establishment left during the 60's. They've ratcheted up the rhetoric since then, they are no longer called "hippies", they are now called anti-government "terrorists". These "libertarians" aren't long hair, pot smoking, cumbaya singing, granola eating, sandal wearing, free sex having college kids. These are white collar managers, blue collar construction workers, factory workers, and yes, even military veterans.
They were in fact demonized by the conservatives as filthy stinking hippies because they, as always judge everyone's lifestyles as filthy savages hell bent on destroying the American way of life.
They (you) have attacked other people's lifestyles since the 1600s.
Native Americans were the first filthy hippies because they would not worship white man's laws and mandatory lifestyle.
Still today, hippie is a derogatory term, used by ignorant conservative as.sholes that demand conformity and lack of freedom to live their own natural lifestyle.
Hippies don't support homicidal maniacs like the so-called right to life supporting conservative fukkwits.
For this reason the worshipers of homicide as a tool, detest and ridicule them.
Conservatives have been trying to stamp out hippies for 400 years.
American conservatives of the period used the term hippie as an insult toward young adults whom they considered unpatriotic, uninformed, and naive. Ronald Reagan, who was governor of California during the height of the hippie movement, described a hippie as a person who "dresses like Tarzan, has hair like Jane, and smells like Cheeta." Others used the term hippie in a more personal way to disparage long-haired, unwashed, unkempt drug users. In contemporary conservative settings, the term hippie is often used to allude to slacker attitudes, irresponsibility, participation in recreational drug use, activism in causes considered relatively trivial, and leftist political leanings (regardless of whether the individual was actually connected to the hippie subculture). An example is its use by the South Park cartoon character, Eric Cartman.
However, their intolerance, hatred and demands of use of force on others, crushes their good qualities.
Conservatives continue to display their never ending quest to run other people's lives.
"Live and let live" is an absolutely deplorable idea to Conservatives, who victimize themselves on every issue in order to justify new laws, to use, to run/ruin other people's lives.
Losertarian, you are simply an idiot that DEMONIZES anything and everyone you don't like because everyone in the world is against you....HESS...Price Chopper....Restaurants....laws designed to protect idiots from themselves....anything preventing you from stealing from others (proprietary and protected).... So are you wearing your seatbelt on your route now??? You know you can't afford an impact to that brain! Must be off the meds again with the multiple thread ranting posts!!!!
JUST BECAUSE SISSY SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO...BUT HE THINKS IT DOES!!!!! JUST BECAUSE MC1 SAYS SO DOESN'T MAKE IT SO!!!!!
Conservatives demand trampling of rights to force their lifestyle on others.
World famous hateful Conservative ideas:
Alcohol prohibition Drug prohibiton Gambling prohibition Sex trade prohibition
And in each case these same dipshiits support government licensed dealers and suppliers of all of the above.
Conservatives are:
Anti-free market Anti freedom Anti personal lifestyle choices Anti personal responsibility Anti reproduction unless you have what they determine to be the necessary money.
And in each case these same dipshiits support government laws regulating and managing of all of the above.
Losertarian, you are simply an idiot that DEMONIZES anything and everyone you don't like because everyone in the world is against you....HESS...Price Chopper....Restaurants....laws designed to protect idiots from themselves....anything preventing you from stealing from others (proprietary and protected).... So are you wearing your seatbelt on your route now??? You know you can't afford an impact to that brain! Must be off the meds again with the multiple thread ranting posts!!!!
Once again the nasty old man regurgitates his hatred.
You are just another self victimizing whiney old Conservative.
Ouch, I'm a victim of those who won't wear a seatbelt.
A Conservative victim that demands laws to punish others for making you a victim by doing nothing to you at all.
Some weird kind of socialist Conservative hatred.
Freedom must be abolished because it makes you a victim.
Your words are simply more of your meaningless crybaby Conservative harassment.
I laugh at your hysterical self victimization that you use to justify your harassment and hatred.
We all know exactly why you hate me Joe.
Because I disrespected your brother homicidal maniacs.
I spit on you and all of those who support killing people.
I'm so evil for not supporting death, destruction and imprisonment of people.
I'm evil for believing that all people are equal.
I'm evil for believing in personal freedom and personal responsibility.
I'm evil for not recognizing that every person in the country that ever got a traffic ticket, was making you the biggest victim ever.
You demonize freedom and free will, while you support homicide and use of force on others for living lifestyles that you don't approve of.
Being called a loser from a person who is incapable of knowing right from wrong, is soooo painful.
Yep he's off his meds again, for thinking about crazy Libertarian, radical ideas like peace, equality, and freedom.
You always grab the attention from any topic and turn it into a personal attack, spewing more hateful crap about the poster.
Let's get back on the topic at hand, Mr Hatefulness.
You and your brothers fled as cowards leaving the war that you guys lost.
A war that you lost not to the Vietnamese, but to the hippees that actually ended a war and brought peace.
After you geniuses killed a half a million civilians trying to do it the Conservative old school method.
Honoring those who kill people and those who assisted them, is not what Jesus would do.
Hippees are the only group to successfully end a war since WW2.
You and your brothers in arms have a perfect losing streak, yet you demand more chances for your homicidal methods to work.
I fully support the hippees that brought peace and ended your reign of terror.
I understand that makes you hate me.
Because what you and your homicidal accomplices call honor and service to our country, I call terrorism.
Plus it was a single thread rant, comprised of multiple posts, not a multiple thread rant as you stated in you heart felt reply.
I am truly sorry that you hate the world, and want laws that will allow the world to be controlled by other homicidal intolerant Conservatives.
By your military actions you have created enemies in every single country on the entire Earth.
It is time to put the Conservative homicidal intolerant method into cold storage.
Logged
