THOSE DIRTY HIPPIES ARE RUINING THE COUNTRY!
There, I said it. Yesterday, after a bunch of those unwashed college students took over the administration building at Berkeley, demanding an end to the draft and the Vietnam war, well, I just got fed up.
I mean, President Johnson’s doing everything he can to conclude the Vietnam war as fast as he can. I just heard Secretary of Defense McNamara, on one of the only three television networks in existence, asking the American people for just a little more time to defeat the communists. I think we owe him another year — until, say, September of 1968 — to conclude the war in our favor.
Where do these long-haired hippies get off telling us to surrender to the Reds? Plus, kids today use all these new words I’ve never heard before — what does “groovy” mean, and why do they keep saying “far out”? Look magazine had a “hippie dictionary” section in their “Latest Trends” column that attempted to explain all the new words being spoken on college campuses today by these young, long-haired radicals.
OK, flashback over. If it were roughly 50 years ago, the above rant might make some sense, or at least be connectable to some current reality.
Every once in a while I’ll pour myself a generous amount of Scotch into a tumbler and tune in to Fox News or rightist political radio, just to get some sense of what the organs of the slice of the right that styles itself as “populist” are saying these days. I usually get the sense that they are broadcasting from a time-warped world where it is 1967. It’s sort of like some radio jock in 1967 ranting about, say, the dangers posed to the country by flappers and bathtub gin.
The thing about “the hippies” is, they are now (literally) history. They get a passing mention in high school history books, and the survivors are now in their dotage. Abbie Hoffman, for example, was one of the Chicago Eight prosecuted in the wake of the protests and riots that swirled around the 1968 Democratic National Convention. He co-founded the Youth International Party and was a leading figure of the New Left anti-war movement; he was pretty unassailably a genuine wild-eyed Sixties Icon. While he was not, strictly speaking, a “hippie,” I think it is fair to say that he would qualify under the looser definition of that word. The thing is, if he were alive today (he died in 1989) he would be almost 80 years old.
While I understand some of the societal factors that made the 1960s such a powder keg (of which more in a bit), I don’t actually understand the reasons for the enmity with which they are remembered by the political right.
For one thing, the hippies were nothing new in Western Civilization. As early as the 5th century B.C., a Greek philosopher and pupil of Socrates named Antisthenes (and later Diogenes) put forth the school of philosophy that came to be known as “Cynicism,” and that philosophy’s adherents were well known in Athens for their rejection of empty materialism and unexamined conformity and conventionality. They would do things like walk around naked and perform acts in public that are more usually carried out in private — in short, they went out of their way to deliberately flout social rules and expectations. The cynics did this not out of nihilism or desire for anarchy, but rather to encourage people to examine their actions and question the structures that governed the lives and politics of the citizens of their civilization. They were very much like the hippies of 2,500 years later.
And make no mistake: America in the 1960s desperately needed to re-examine large parts of its society. The celebrated television drama “Mad Men” has spent its entire run portraying both the changes that wracked American society in that decade and the need for those changes. It sometimes resorts to near-caricature, but I am (barely) old enough to have direct, personal memories of that era, and the show gets the big things right: the casual racism; the hypocrisy of a generation of parents that both smoked and drank heavily yet condemned their children for “using drugs”; the transformation of the role women played in society; and many of the other upheavals of a nation that had only just completed the transition to a primarily urban society from a primarily rural one.
I have mentioned the urban-rural divide before in this space, and I think the 1960s was the beginning of the end of the supremacy of rural sensibilities.
The transformation that happened during the ’60s was long overdue. Many rules and expectations that had long governed American social mores no longer made sense, or at least needed reassessment.
I believe part of the resentment of the 1960s youth movement came from a generation that had endured terrible suffering — in World War II, and before, in the Great Depression — trying to preserve civilization as they understood it, only to find many of the foundational ideas of that civilization questioned, and in many cases rejected, by their children.
Those who those who deny the contributions of the hippies fail to see how much better off we are because of that turbulent questioning and rejecting.
Matt Talbot is a writer and poet, as well as an old Benicia hand. He works for a tech start-up in San Francisco.
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a pure anti American, anti Republican uniformed writer. Matt try the church newsletter.
I just read this article over 3 times and could find nothing anti-American (it was primarily a look at history, and as one who lived through that era, pretty accurate) or anti-Republican (the only politicians mentioned – and somewhat negatively at that – were Democrats). How can questioning our values, noting some trends that have occurred throughout history (Matt could also have mentioned the huge influence of the avant garde on art, writing and music as another example during the 19th century) possibly be construed as anti-American? This is what I hate – if we are honest about our history, we will admit that the so-called hippies (who were overwhelmingly from white, upper and middle class, well educated families) were right about Vietnam, just as that other anti-American retro hippie godless traitor Barbara Lee was right about Iraq. Saying something is anti-American because it points out our flaws is, well, really, really, REALLY anti-American.
Hear hear
The American judge gives this comment a perfect ten.
You have not followed Robert Shelby and do not about his comments over the years. The worst anti American comment was to call the American Flag a a Tri- Colored Rag. Is that who you support? If so I am very ashamed of all of you. This man is for sure anti American. Just ask Robert Shelby if he made that comment.. Yes he did and it is very anti American and for sure Robert Shelby is no Patriot.. If any of you support that kind of talk I do believe the folks in Benicia will think not much of you.
Where in this article did he say that? Or are you going to stalk him for years for something he wrote elsewhere? Do you know how sick that makes you?
Ha! You’re not even commenting In the right story Boob!
It does not matter Hank they are all the same and think the same. So what you say of one covers them all including you.
Hahahahahaha
Take a nap H H. You are a big fool all wraped up in the Progressive party that is going to get hammered in 2014. Where are your predictiions now. You flushed them down the drain. Sorry H H you have no credibility only foolish comments with no evidence. Again H H it is time for you to take that much needed nap. Poor fella
Bedtime for you old man. Get your rest, you’ll need it.
Yeah, but what about Matt Talbot?
Read it again. just the mentiion of FoxNews gives you the hint of what he is all about. Matt is not a Conservative he is a Progressive.
It is a common tactic with today’s reactionaries (I won’t say conservatives because true conservatives shudder at the likes of Cruz, Palin, Bachmann, et. al. What we have running one of our parties now are a group of folks who yearn for the good old days and are reacting to the changes in culture and demographics which are irreversible, no matter how many anti-voting, anti-women laws are passed.) to deflect the real question by bringing up stuff that is only very slightly related to the issue (who cares what someone said about the flag sometime ago?), making a big, big deal out of it, thereby avoiding the real issue. Which, in this case, is MATT TALBOT’S column about the history of push backs to the status quo, which have been going on since ever. So, we now have a nice long thread of elementary playground blah, blah instead of a real discussion about Mr. Talbot’s column, which was interesting, thoughtful, educational and far, far from “anti-American and anti-Republican” – another example of deflecting the question at hand – column.
“Every once in a while I’ll pour myself a generous amount of Scotch into a tumbler and tune in to Fox News or rightist political radio, just to get some sense of what the organs of the slice of the right that styles itself as “populist” are saying these days. I usually get the sense that they are broadcasting from a time-warped world where it is 1967.”
Matt, I personally don’t consider it to be news at all. There has been far to much content that have proven to be falsehoods. Such as the following limited examples:
“Redskins is used historically as a term of respect” – Pete Hegseth
“The Constitution simply does not authorize the federal government to own any of this land” – Andrew Napolitano
“Liberals have figured out a Facebook algorithm and all the people being banned from Face book are somehow conservatives” Todd Starnes
“A north Carolina study proves that probably over a million people voted twice (in the 2012) election” Dick Morris
“A friend’s sister died from Obamacare because Blue Shield completely just pulled out of California” Ann Coulter
“Colorado food stamps recipients can use ATMs to get cash to buy marijuana.” Brian Kilmeade
Matt, I don’t think your issue here is that they lean right. Everyone knows the channel pushes a conservative-friendly version of “the news” (?). Everyone who’s been paying attention has known that since the channel’s inception. The real issue, and the real danger posed by this cable outlet, is that over time they have stopped simply leaning to the right and instead become agenda-driven and an open and active political player, sort of one-part character assassin and one-part propagandist, depending on which party was in power. And that the operation thrives on fabrications and falsehoods.
Thanks for proving my point. Matt is thriving on a political agenda that you agree with. Funny thing about Fox News is they are the leader in cable news. So it appears you followers of Matt do think they are politically incorrect. Is that true? Just who is the best news source. I watch and read many.
Pleas answer these question:
1. “Thanks for proving my point.” What point?
2. “Matt is thriving on a political agenda that you agree with.” How so?
“Just who is the best news source?” The point is that it is not FOX. I personally don’t pledge allegiance to any one news source. Nor am I offended when any news source is called out Here’s one, TYT take your best shot.
“So it appears you followers of Matt do think they are politically incorrect. Is that true?” I for one, am definitely not a follower of Matt. For instance, I disagree with the theism he expresses in many of his columns. As, far as the network goes, it is true that they are incorrect on many things “politically” or otherwise. For instance, the fabricated “War on Xmas”.
I just read what you say. I guess it is when DDL or Bob Livesay comment that you then chose to take sides. #1 read your comment. #2 you have now stated publicly you are not a follower of Matt. So I guess you will AGREE with me when I do not agree with Matt. Simple .
You are the biggest follower of Matt there is. You comment on every single one of his stories. Every one, without fail.
Exhibit A “I just read what you say. I guess it is when DDL or Bob Livesay comment that you then chose to take sides.”
I don’t comment on anything that DDL puts up here. So, you stating, “I just read what you say.” is unverified. Otherwise, I’ll put my comment anywhere I choose.
Let’s turn the tables and say, if Thomas Petersen makes a comment then Bob Livesay is most likely to add a comment that is usually in disagreement. No denying that.
Likewise, I guess you will agree with me when I AGREE with Matt. Easy-pleasy.
In any case, I fail to see what any of this has to do with my opinion that Fox News is just generally a POS, when it come to reporting the news. I was commenting on a statement that Matt included in his column. Not on anything that you wrote. You are the one that decided to interject.
Thomas you may want to tell the readers why you do not comment when DDL comments. Can you own up to that andftell the readers why that is the case. The Whisller,, Thin Man, Falcon does know. Do you want me to expose it or are you willing to come forward and tell the folks? Your choice. Come clean Thomas
It is all yours. Go ahead Bob. I want you to do it. I’m really interested in what kind of right-wing dickish fabrication you come up with. I am sure all two dozen readers will be really interested.
Then when you are done we’ll share some tid-bits about Bob Livesay. You know what I mean, right?
As usual Bob takes it down the crapper. He is unable to stay on topic, gets flustered and then resorts to nonsense. Do what you have to do Bob, if that is what makes you feel good about yourself. Really, go ahead do it. I dare you.
To make it sweeter, Bob. And, I know this is going to set you off. I’ve instructed my kids not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in school until they remove ‘under god’…………………………….
Show your cards, Bob. What worthless hand are you holding?
Game, set, match.
I will always say “under God” as will all members of my family. I am a true American. That is a good hand to hold. This country will not change for you or anyone like you.
You are just another American. “True” is highly debatable.
Is there anything wrong with being an American. Do you consider yourself a Patriotic American or are you aligned elsewhere.. I believe you are but I would like to hear it from you.
“another American”, should answer your question.
Let’s get back to how you were threatening to expose me. Are you done with that? I need some closure.
done
Just as I expected.
I thought that is what you wanted. i just did as you asked. If you want otherwise just say so.. read what you posted and then reAD WH
I thought that is what you wanted. We go back a little bit. I have never thought personal comments about each other were ever good. I answered and you make a very sarcastic remark. Look you may not like me but it is time to stop this personal stuff. Are you up to it. I will if you stop, . At this point it does not matter where it all started. The important thing is not to continue.
Yes Bob, please stop with the nonsense. If you can do that, I should not have any reason to comment back. That’s a deal as far as I’m concerned.
The phrase “Under God” was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954, so every American who lived before 1954 was a heathen traitor.
Not only that, but the man who penned the original pledge in 1892, Francis Julius Bellamy was a Christian socialist minister.
Bellamy’s original Pledge was as follows:
“I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
‘As a socialist, he had initially also considered using the words equality and fraternity[7] but decided against it – knowing that the state superintendents of education on his committee were against equality for women and African Americans.’
should read I do believe you are an American
We also used to salute the Flag with arm extended and our palm turned up. I do not believe that meant we were followers of the Nazi. .
I read all of your comments, all of them trivial tripe ! Little boys trying to one up the other. Frankly play for America and live free. If you have opinions that are different say them in an educated debate. Stop bashing each other and make this column something worth reading. Certainly no one cares about the way you present your silly differences. stand up, be men and save this country from the slow internal bleeding and death by implosion !