Music Bender

Ah, the Sixties!

With the present world in turmoil over situations as diverse as war in Iraq, increasing gas prices and which celebrity’s in rehab or  jail, we long for a return to those thrilling days of yesteryear.

It was certainly a simpler, more relaxing era for most Americans… at least until mid-decade, when a remarkable group of youngsters that soon became known as “longhairs,” “hippies” and “peaceniks” began appearing in American society.
Considered “freaks” by many in the older, often stodgy and hawkish, generation, they believed in such absurd ideas like peace, love and equality.

Sit-ins, peace rallies and even a Woodstock wouldn’t change the opinions of the “establishment”. But little did that generation know that the actions of these mid-1960s “freaks” would create a much better world for all of us here in the 21st Century..

To prove the point, we have to go back in time for a quick history lesson.  Now, we know the Beatles, the Byrds, Sonny and Cher, Righteous Brothers, Jimi Hendrix, and a zillion other musical talents marked the landscape of those years.

But who’d ever forget the great #1-with-a-bullet (or more) hit called VIETNAM? While the fighting and subsequent death toll seemed to escalate, there was no real strategy for lasting peace from either Washington or Saigon.

We were apprehensive about a foreign country having “the” bomb, and its apparent capacity to use it on us.  Various parts of the country sweated through near-famine heat waves, and New York City went powerless at one point.  Other areas were well-lit, but by fires started in the heat of racial violence and riots that seemed to be endless.  Parents wrestled with their kids about the dangers of “experimenting” with various drugs, but it seemed as if they were turning a deaf ear.  For many, the lure of the illegal street meds was just too strong.

But, just as it seemed that Washington had turned its back on the voice of mainstream America and we were heading for an enormous, collective breakdown in society, the youth of America showed its collective power.

From flower children to serious scholars, their voices helped to influence the end of the Vietnam War.  As they gathered together for philosophical lectures and rock concerts, one could see the beginning of voluntary racial integration. Whether living  in communes or small communities, they worked together to build houses, plant and harvest gardens and more. Their burgeoning interest in religion (Christian or not) influenced young and old alike to either look within or to the heavens for support and protection.  Through it all, the older generation still thought it all repulsive; how dare these young upstarts, with their long hair and peace symbols, to challenge what was happening in “their” America?

Today, the “old fogies”, for the most part, have passed on.  And these same “upstarts” – now part of an elite group known as “baby-boomers” – are working through the establishment they once spurned to bring an end to a not-so-different war.
They work side-by-side — Americans of all colors and creeds — as friends, associates and peaceful neighbors.  These same people act, often spontaneously, for the good of others, whether it’s helping to get someone’s car running or lending their hands to rebuild a city destroyed by a hurricane.  Their faith has passed the test of time and has spawned a number of today’s most dynamic evangelists and preachers.

They use the experience of their own past to teach their children and grandchildren the dangers of substance abuse, the wholesomeness of nature and the warmth felt by having a true fellowship with mankind, no matter what color or creed is represented.  They empathize, sympathize and counsel more readily and with more impact than their predecessors because that’s what they learned by true communion with each other.

Whether they’re in Congress, a seat of a local town council or just a voting citizen, they know that to listen to one’s conscience is the better way to handle things if that conscience is acted upon.  Gone are the days of siding with someone simply due to party affiliation or favoritism.  Thanks to them, this country has a fighting chance to shine, once again, on the world stage – and bring peace, once more, to its people.

And that’s pretty good for what was once considered a bunch of “long-haired” freaks, right?