Sixties Values | Modern Hippie Mag

Sixties Values by Chris Lawrence

Timothy Leary came up with the phrase “Turn on, tune in, drop out” in the sixties, and it became a common slogan. I think today we might want to turn that on its head. Instead, we need to “Tune out, turn off, and get involved.” Abandoning ourselves to a drug filled haze isn’t going to help anything, and neither is dropping out from society, even if the intent is to build a small sustainable community. We need to get involved, not drop out, and we need to reduce our energy use and our exposure to mainstream media and entertainment.

It should be clear by now that personal lifestyle changes aren’t going to help us solve global warming or other environment problems, because they can only address a small percent of the problem. The scale of the threat means that we need large scale changes in our infrastructure as well as in economics and politics. Some people are getting together in groups and trying to establish eco-villages that are somewhat self-sufficient and sustainable. This is similar to the idea of the commune in the sixties and seventies.

It is very hard for any eco-community to be purely self-sufficient, however, because people often still need vehicles, which require fossil fuels both for their construction and their operation. Also, unless the community is completely off-grid, it still requires electricity, which is also often powered by fossil fuels. Even if solar or wind power is used, these technologies require a large industrial infrastructure for their manufacture. If the community grows its own food, it needs to do so without fertilizer or tractors.

Still, while it may be virtually impossible for an eco-village to be completely sustainable and self-sufficient, the people living there are certainly treating the environment much better than most of us, and this is to be applauded. Unfortunately, though, the number of people living this way is tiny and their efforts have virtually no effect on global carbon emissions or other pollution. Some people living in these communities might feel more spiritually pure because they have disconnected themselves from our destructive culture, but if they are not involved in trying to change our society and culture, what difference is this really going to make?

While complete physical disconnection and isolation might not be the answer, that doesn’t mean we need to immerse ourselves in the dominant culture. Clearly, the messages coming from the mainstream news and entertainment shows are not very positive. They encourage massive overconsumption of energy and resources, waste and a lack of respect for the environment. It makes sense to limit our exposure to such negative messages, and to encourage others to do the same. Through the Internet we can be exposed to more positive messages, and we can use this medium in a more democratic way to help spread these messages.

The sixties were also known as a time of “free love”. While excessive promiscuity may be enjoyable for some, it isn’t going to stop wars or prevent pollution, despite catchy slogans such as “make love not war”. In the sixties and seventies this attitude was also used to pressure many women into doing things they weren’t comfortable with. Additionally, such “openness” meant that many peace groups were easily infiltrated by the police and FBI. It is possible to be an open and loving person without being naive, and without taking advantage of anyone.

The point of this article, however, is not to attempt to dismiss the values of the sixties, but to strip away the excesses and the idealism to get to the valuable core. Many of the core values of the sixties remain extremely important and relevant today. These are values such as justice and equality for all, anti-racism and resistance to wars of aggression. The environmental movement was born in the sixties, and values such as respect for the Earth and its plants and animals, are even more vital today.

Today, we recognize the importance of the environment more than ever before, and we see, more than ever, our impact on it. There are strong moral and ethical reasons why we shouldn’t destroy the environment, but beyond that, we have a practical need to stop this destruction simply in order to protect ourselves and our future. The core values of the sixties are needed more than ever, and we need to build upon and expand them if we hope to survive.

Chris Lawrence is the author of Self Destructive Bastards, a blog dedicated to environmental issues. He is a former IT worker living in Toronto, Canada.

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Tags: Canada Guy, Chris Lawrence, Climate change, conscious living, Environmental Movement, Global warming, Self Destructive Bastards blog, values

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Stuff, Wellness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

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