Closet Hippies?

“Closet Hippies?” by Barry Marcus

Johan talked nostalgically about the music he loved: Joan Armatrading, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin. He was telling a young female colleague of the magic of those days. As he talked I located the songs that he mentioned on my laptop. I had every one.

I recounted the concerts and festivals of which I was a part, the Isle of Wight 1970, Bickershaw 1973 …

“You’re a closet Hippie,” he exclaimed.

His words rang a bell.

I had never defined myself as a hippie. In those days nobody actually called themselves a hippie, but I had been part of the ‘hippie’ generation, the ‘alternative society’ that found new ways to look at how we live and how we eat. We were concerned about opening the doors (or perhaps the windows) of perception.

This was the generation that transformed the environmental movement from a tiny fringe minority into a mainstream organization, the generation that began the movement towards organic foods (you are what you eat), the generation that rejected materialism in favor of spiritual growth.

We looked for alternative ways of seeing things. Everything from politics to music to art became more thoughtful. There were alternatives to the old left and the old right. Pop groups had to become virtuoso musicians, and each band member had to do an obligatory solo at least once on each set.

Perhaps one of the greatest legacies of the ‘hippie’ movement was the strength that went into the anti-war protests. Opposition to the war at home may have played the major part in bringing an end to the Vietnam War.

The ‘closet hippie’ part really got to me. No-one ever called themselves hippies. That was an invention of the media. But no one today advertises their part in the movement. The establishments have perhaps won the propaganda war. Hippies are somewhat derided – until we discover that many of the movements that the hippies began have today become mainstream.

Timothy Leary coined the phrase “turn on, tune in drop out.” It was a big slogan of the era. Of course it was not possible for many to do that on a sustainable basis. Most became ‘straight’ and joined mainstream society. They became scientists, doctors, artists, professors, lawyers, musicians and business consultants. They joined the ‘other side’, they SOLD OUT. They became closet hippies!

But in 2009 there is a modern hippie movement. I have discovered Modern Hippie Mag and then there are the Cultural Creatives. These are the modern hippies, an underground group of subversives hoping to inject some thought into what we are doing to our environment, ourselves and each other …

Barry Marcus

Barry Marcus is the author of Breathing Space, a blog about politics, human interest, and life in South Africa.

Barry lives in Johannesburg with his artist wife Lorraine, sons Adam, Joshua & Asher, and cats Minnie and Zena.