In youth, two things preserved my sanity. Punk rock and German industrial music. I usually put aside the political stint messages, as most of that was sellout garbage and meant for rowdy shows (which, is also okay--did my time in the pits... :lol: ) but it was the simplicity and the skeptical struggle against whatever was in power, whether it was your own mind, your parents, the government, your job... it taught me a lot. Now I know why I have a job, parents, my own mind and government. With varying degrees of rebellion and acceptance therein.
By "hippie" I mean a dull, pushing sense of communal huggy-ness, mindless connections to that which doesn't matter and living "free" in a sense that you lack responsibility. Pretty attractive package to spoiled, angry youth. Kind of dulls one and satiates another. Punk was about doing stuff, even if it was just fun. There was purpose, not just ubiquity of ideal. There was always work to do, music to make, people to hang out with, trouble to get into, something to be pissed off about... and the neo-hippies of the post 80s world shot that all to hell. Technobrats now have added a consumerist quality to it all, mumsy and dadsy gets them a new iphone, and if they don't get the latest release, they pout, protest and go "homeless" until they get their way.
Ranting aside, it's always fascinating to see where "punk" goes. Punk isn't music, it isn't a person, it isn't a scene, it's a thinking, independent and vibrancy for life mindset that is just as useful as an adult as it is for youth. It's all in what you do with it, of course. Punk keeps dynamics happening, hippies want blissful sameness. It's a conflict.
Now, that said, I believe in true love, actual peace and balance. It's why I study Aikido. It's an internal mission, not a solution for the world. Keeps the heart limber and flexible, which is very important, too.
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