Readers respond to hippie blog
By DON MILLER
SENTINEL STAFF WRITER
I posted a blog earlier this week on a rant by redneck rocker Ted
Nugent in the Wall Street Journal's opinion pages. Nugent's point was
that rather than sentimentalizing the '60s, the decade should be
remembered for drug overdoses and an unleashing of cultural
deformities that continue to tweak American society. Hmmm.
Here's part of what I wrote:
"Nugent, never one to take up predictable positions [he's a longtime
and proud hunter, for instance, an active NRA member and co-author,
with wife Shemane, of the best-selling "Kill It and Grill It"], in an
essay titled 'Summer of Drugs' talks about '60s music icons such as
Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin: 'I often wonder what musical peaks they
could have climbed had they not gagged to death on their own vomit.'"
Nugent also wrote, regarding the hippie movement: "Turned off by the
work ethic and productive American Dream values of their parents,
hippies instead opted for a cowardly, irresponsible lifestyle of
random sex, life-destroying drugs and mostly soulless rock music that
flourished in San Francisco"
I asked for, and received, responses from readers, most of whom use
blog names. Several fired back.
One said:
"Ted Nugent? A real beacon of thoughtful discourse! Sounds like you
are going to take a real reasoned approach to this theme, as usual Mr.
Miller. Not surprising given your agenda.
I wonder if you will look at the genesis of this period of time in
your essay? A whole generation responding to the hypocrisy and deceit
of the society they grew up in, you will no doubt dismiss. Gene
McCarthy, Robert F. Kennedy, Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King Jr. —
real dopes all. Wonder what you will have to say about segregation,
Cuba, Vietnam or Patrice Lumumba?
You can't write about that period without addressing the root causes
of discontent — and be credible. Not that credibility particularly
worries the Sentinel. We'd all be a lot better off if certain ideals
and aims of those '60s drop-outs had been realized.
It will be interesting to see if you also do a series on the moral
bankruptcy of the post-'60s America — like the media suppression,
murder of dissidents, corporatism, consumerism, materialism and greed?
I'll hold my breath — not"
And, this:
"Gosh darn those hippies and their fiendish LSD! Look at the messes
they've got us in ...
* A couple of apparently pointless and endless ground wars in
Asia. Stupid hippie war-mongers!
* A corporate and national culture of greed, resulting in Enron,
Halliburton, and the sub-prime mortgage collapse. Stupid hippie
capitalists!
* An ever-increasing dependence on foreign oil, plus the peril of
global warming. Stupid SUV-driving hippies.
* Ever-decreasing funding for important social services, coupled
with ongoing tax cuts for the rich. Stupid, selfish hippie social
Darwinists.
* A steadily increasing culture of violence, both in entertainment
and in real life. Stupid, macho, hippie thrill seekers.
* Steady erosion of civil rights under an administration that
feels the law doesn't apply to them. Stupid hippie authoritarians!
Yep, it's easy to see that all problems can be laid at the feet of the
hippies. We should have gunned them all down while we still had the
chance. A million Kent States, and America would obviously have been a
better place.
Then without that pernicious hippie influence we'd all be peaceful,
caring, gentle folks who love the environment, think about the
consequences of our actions, support the needy and less fortunate, and
are able to actively participate in a meaningful multiparty democracy.
We'd have good schools, universal health care, and even the poorest of
us could find shelter.
Oh wait. Wouldn't that have been the hippie ideal?
Though for many reasons the hippie dream couldn't have ever worked,
blaming hippies and the Summer of Love for any of our current problems
is just plain stupid. But I suppose it's easier than taking
responsibility ourselves"
http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2007/July/07/style/stories/03style.htm
