I didn't know many (or any) hippies. I grew sideburns, a mustache, and for a while a beard, and I wore leisure suits, but none of that changed me either. I never touched dope, not even once. I never touched another woman besides my wife, not even once.
I don't really mean that hippies per se were the cause of the problem that we experienced in New Orleans after Katrina, nor of many other problems that we have seen grow large as a society.
What I mean is, the ethic of permissiveness: anything goes; if it feels good, do it; free love; and, yes, smoking dope, has resulted in a whole generation of people who don't know how to restrain their behavior sufficiently to stop and be kind and compassionate to others. There was a lot of discussion about the breakdown of morals back then. To me, there was substance to the fear and it materialized. |
