Hippies, Hypocrisy And Happiness Ambassador College Publication
The "Hippies" have emerged as a whole new subculture around the world. The drug-taking cult has rejected modern society, rebelled against the Establishment, and withdrawn to a psychedelic world of bizarre thrills. You need to know WHY the Hippies are the BAROMETER of a SICK, SICK SOCIETY! "LOOK AT YOU" — sneered the hippie-"needing a couple of stiff drinks before you have the guts to talk to another human being. Look at you — making it with your neighbor's wife on the sly. Look at you, proclaiming Peace to the world while you machine-gun and bomb innocent people in Vietnam, in support of a corrupt government. Look at you, fouling up the land, polluting the water and air for profit and calling this nowhere scene the 'Great Society'! Look at you. "And you think you're going to tell us how to live? You've got to be kidding!" These are the disillusioned words of a California hippie a young man who has dropped out of society and rejected its values, turning to the bizarre world of LSD. These words sum up the real essence of the new Hippie ideology!
The "HIP" Generation
Hippie enclaves have burst forth in every major city in the United States. Several foreign capitals and cities are blossoming with their own hippies. More than 300,000 young people, it is estimated, have dropped out of society, rejected the life and standards of their parents and peers, and withdrawn to their own little world of marijuana, called "pot," and LSD, called "acid." By all estimates the new hippie subculture is growing phenomenally and will probably not reach its peak for several more years. More and more, young people, disillusioned with the moral standards and cutthroat competition of their elders, are deciding such is not the life for them. They want something different! They want something EXCITING! Something novel, something new! What IS a hippie? What causes a young person to reject society and enter the "hip" world? What is the underlying — and FRIGHTENING — significance of the new hip generation to the rest of the world? It's time you knew the TRUTH — understood the REAL meaning and dangers of the hippie subculture and what they mean to You! Make no mistake. You may not realize it yet, but YOU ARE INVOLVED-DIRECTLY! But first, you need to know what is happening, and WHY!
The Hippie Scene
To get the facts on the hippies, to find out what really turns them "on," to find out WHY many youths seem to enjoy and admire the hippie way of life, two of our correspondents were sent to the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco. Here's their report What we discovered may surprise you! It was a pleasant afternoon in May 1967. The hippies were out in force, clothed in their typical outlandish regalia. Some looked like wild Indians of the American variety, complete with headbands and feathers. Others appeared more like the three musketeer variety with colorful coats and high boots. Many of them seemed to enjoy parading up and down Haight Street, sporting their long hair, smiling for the cameras, selling copies of "The Oracle" or "The Berkeley Barb." As we toured the "hip scene," and saw for ourselves "where it's at," we had a chance to talk with several of the hippies. They seemed to have nothing at all to hide. They were free, frank, open and sincere. "Why are you a hippie?" we asked a group of friendly looking youths, three men and one woman. "Have you ever taken LSD?" "What's it like?" "Do you believe in God?" "Why have you rejected the 'straight' world?" "What do you think of war?" The answers we received were extremely interesting. All three of these youths (all in their twenties) had taken-and enjoyed-the mind-bending drug LSD. "It really turns you on, man," said the girl. "I mean, it really sends you. Everything is beautiful when you're on LSD. There's nothing like it. Marijuana is nice and gives you a pleasant sensation; it makes you feel good. But LSD, wow, man-you just can't describe it." The fellows laughingly agreed. One or two of them seemed to be "high" on LSD even as we talked with them. Why did these young people become hippies? All of them said they were disgusted with the "straight" world, violence, the war in Vietnam. "Why can't everybody live in peace," one said. "Then the whole world can be happy. Love, that's what we all need. More love. That's what we hippies want to give to the world." The girl told us she had been arrested several times back where she came from — Colorado. "They threw me in jail many times," she said. "My parents didn't care. The school didn't care. I was just bored with life. That's all Bored. But when I discovered 'pot,' my whole life changed. When I began taking LSD, everything became great-just great. My folks don't care for me-I don't think they ever did. " When we asked the group about religion, the girl spoke up and said, "Jesus was the first hippie, you know." We didn't know, so she explained, "He taught people should all love one another. He taught peace. But they killed Him for it. We believe in love and peace, just as He did." One of the fellows, an intellectual sort, interrupted and said: "I don't know about that, but I get my religion from Buddhism and the Oriental religions. Buddha was one of the original hippies — he was a beggar who rejected the 'straight' world. I think incense and charms help turn a person on. The teaching of Nirvana seems to be the essence of truth. The Oriental religions have more to offer than Christianity." It was obvious to us that these were normal, typical hippies. They were honest hippies, completely sincere in their beliefs. They "dropped out" of society because they were completely disenchanted with the older generation. They didn't like the war in Vietnam; they didn't like the hypocrisy in the churches; they generally hated the stifling boredom and antagonism that existed in their parents' home life. The world, in general, simply "turned them off." But somehow they found refuge in following the hippie philosophy. For the time being, at least, they seemed to be content to be sitting in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, drinking coca cola and eating a cream pie. They let the world go by — it wasn't their world. They had discovered a new world, the bizarre world of free love, peace, live and let live, complete with the sacraments of marijuana and LSD. We talked to others as well. One young lady was obviously disenchanted with hippiedom. She had come to the "Hashbury" from Canada, where she was returning as soon as possible. "There's no future in being a hippie," she told us; "It's a blind alley going nowhere. I've had my kicks. Now I'm going back to Canada and become a dress designer." I accosted one fellow and asked him why he wore his hair so long. He was annoyed at the question and replied, "It's natural that way. That's the way it grows." Asking him what he meant by that, he retorted, "I wasn't born with a pair of scissors!" He was one of the great unwashed, the back-to — nature cult.
WHY Is a Hippie a Hippie?
Our interviews with hippies have revealed that there are basically TWO KINDS of hippie-there is the honest, sincere dropout who became disillusioned with the world and society around him. They sincerely believe the world is a rotten place and want nothing to do with it. So they withdraw, rebel, and become alienated. Then there is the pseudo-hippie. He (or she) only goes into hippiedom for the sex, the excitement, the "thrills," and to get away from Mom and Dad. This hippie doesn't believe in peace or the hippie philosophy -but he does believe in free sex, having fun, and rebellion! Finally, you might also say there is a third kind of hippie if you could call him (or her) a hippie. This would be the violent, insincere, dishonest hippie — the one who takes advantage of other hippies and other people. This is the type that peddles LSD and marijuana to the others making a profit, short-changing them when he can get away with it. He is liable to be a "pusher" of hard narcotics and more addictive drugs. Why does a person become a hippie? There are many reasons. A free, easy life of no responsibility APPEALS to young people. A life of little work, plenty of sex, and plenty of "peace" seems attractive to youth. But also the shams, hypocrisies and frauds of the normal world are unattractive. The "straight" world seems full of evil, hatred, stealing, murder, competition, international antagonisms, bitter disputes and rivalries. These things turn hippies "off." Clearly, there are seemingly "good" reasons for young people to become hippies. But, in this case, as you will soon see, the CURE is worse than the disease! The hippie "solution" is worse than the original problem it is meant to solve!
Is Hippiness the ANSWER?
Talk with a sincere hippie and you will find that he believes his way is the right way. But of course, his (or her) Mom and Dad believe their way is the right way. The Establishment naturally believes its way is the RIGHT WAY. Who's right? Or could they ALL be wrong? THIS is the biggest question which needs to be answered! Let's not just throw up our hands and say, "I quit!" There IS AN ANSWER! The world is not hopelessly lost between a rock and a hard place. There IS a right way of life-a way that does produce thrills and great enjoyment, without the boomerang of suffering that is so common today. There is a WAY OF LIFE that is far more exciting than the hippie philosophy ever dreamed of; a way totally devoid of the hypocrisy and false values and shams of The Establishment! But before explaining about THAT way, what it is, and how YOU can have it, read on and see why "hippiness" is not the way of happiness; see why the Establishment also does not have the true answer! No doubt that many hippies are sincere. No doubt, too, that many living in the "straight" world secretly envy the life of true hippies. They themselves wish they had the courage to "drop out" and "turn on" with LSD. But they are fearful of losing the prestige and position they have gained in society and don't want to lose it, now. Suburbs across the United States are filled with secret "swingers." Many sympathize with the hippie fears for the future of the world and also seek a desperate gaiety in the darkening shadow of nuclear World War III and the looming specter of the mushroom cloud. The hippies are not the only ones seeking escape. Many others plunge into a mad whirl of pleasure-seeking and hedonism. Many others, including the older generation, turn to alcohol to liven things up, although they proscribe the use of LSD. Many in the older generation become wrapped up in big parties, wife-swapping; many men seek sensual thrills through reading salacious magazines, dirty movies, or frequenting nightclubs and "topless" bars, such as those in the North Beach area of San Francisco. Million today are desperately seeking, searching, often they know not what. Modern education, the blurring of right and wrong, the double standard of the world, the philosophy of permissiveness and experimental psychology, uncertainty and general insecurity, the growth of affluence and leisure, the idea that might makes right and there are no absolute standards -all these factors contribute to the widespread growth of disillusionment, immorality, rebellion against society, and the growing ESCAPISM! Is it any wonder that kids become hippies? With all the conflicting siren songs of propaganda, with all the promiscuous freedom that passes for morality, with the idea that there is no white or black, everything is shades of gray-why wouldn't young people be confused, perplexed and bewildered? Let's get our bearings — let's understand! There is a cause for every effect. There is a REASON for every RESULT! Leading the trend into wearing long hair and "grooving" with beat music, of course, were the Beatles-that long-haired British rock 'n roll group. Paul McCartney, one of the Beatles, has confessed that he has taken LSD. Teen-age kids in recent years literally worshipped the Beatles. Looked upon as neo — gods of music, they set the pace, and now multiple thousands try to emulate their music and their long hair! The Beatles have seemingly sung for the younger, alienated generation. Teen-agers who couldn't communicate with their parents (who were probably too busy) could go for the basic beat of the Beatles. They could identify with them. Their rebellious, lost-soul, longing, plaintive music was something the kids could sympathize with and feel themselves. It seemed to fit them! And along with the music and the rebellion, of course, has come the long hair! It symbolizes the protest, the disenchantment and the rebellion of youth! Thus the stage was set for Hippiism!
Lost Values
Let's understand. The new psychedelic world of hippies with their drugs and flowers is not a far-out, estranged segment of mankind. They are people-just like you and everybody — They are perhaps one extreme, insofar as dress and costuming are concerned. But they think, they bleed when they are cut, they cry, they have to eat. They are human, just like you. More than that, their morals are not really so different from MANY in the "straight" world. Which is worse — committing adultery, stepping out on your wife, or wife-swapping? Or sleeping with a "chick" for the night whom you happen to like? One is no better than the other. NEITHER IS RIGHT. BOTH ARE WRONG!! But it does little good for a person guilty of the one to point a finger of accusation at the other! Don't be misled. The growing trend toward hippiedom is merely part and parcel of a growingly DEGENERATE WORLD. It is merely one facet of a society where increasingly, anything seems to go! Hippies are not responsible for the growing tension in world affairs. They didn't cause the leaping crime rate. They didn't bring about the flagrant use of sex in advertising, or the "topless" bars of North Beach in San Francisco, or the widespread distribution of smut and pornography. They did not cause the increase in corruption, bribery and graft in government. They are not responsible for the rocketing increase in homosexuality and perversion! Rather, hippies are a result of-in a sense, a rebellion against-this world's ills! The world has lost its sense of values. Is it any wonder, then, that young people today are left groping for their own sense of values? Their parents so often don't teach them properly. Or else, their parents are too harsh, strict and confining, causing the children to REBEL against all authority. But in most cases, today, parents couldn't care less if their children try a little sexual experimentation. In fact, many even ENCOURAGE it! Even the schools and universities parrot the agnostic idea that there are no absolute standards, no absolute truth. For example, one educator said it is NOT correct to say arsenic is a poison which will kill you. True, it may have killed hundreds of others; but you don't know it will kill you unless you try it! Even then, that doesn't prove it would kill everyone else. The only way to PROVE it, according to this theory, is to try it. Does that really make sense? You should KNOW that taking arsenic will kill you. You don't have to take it in order to prove it! By the same reasoning, you don't know that the law of gravity will work next time you drop something, or lose your balance. Who knows? According to this wacky theory, next time you might fall up? Or the thing you "drop" might go sailing off to the moon! But people are confused by this type of interesting-sounding reasoning. Therefore they become convinced that indeed there ARE no absolutes, no laws, that everything is relative. With this type of education permeating our school classrooms and universities, is it strange that youth are EXPERIMENTING for themselves? You see, they haven't yet TRIED marijuana, or LSD. They therefore don't know it will be harmful to them. And who know — maybe they will get a real "kick" from using it! WHO KNOWS? Therefore they experiment for themselves. And what about illicit sex? Well, of course, they don't know it is wrong. You see, they have never tried it! Consequently, they have no compunctions against trying it. And if it seems good, they'll try it again! By the time they catch venereal disease, of course, it is too late. By the time they ruin their young lives, or bend their minds out of shape with drugs, then it is too late!
Wild, Weird World
It's a wild, weird, wacky world you live in. Everywhere you turn, it seems, you hear the enticing cry, "Live a little!" Young people learn from their friends the "secret joys" of smoking pot or marijuana. A friend recites to them the thrill of a trip on LSD. Enticed, tempted, they decide to "try" it. Fun, fun, fun, fun! The world is a bag of thrills. Will there be a horrible reaction — a terrible repercussion? Will their experimentation eventually lead to heartache, misery, suffering, DEATH? All too often, their thinking doesn't go that far. Instead, they think, "Wow! Wonderful, man! Wouldn't it be nice to run away from home and get away from all this stifling authority and constant bickering. Wouldn't it be beautiful to go to a hippie hangout, maybe the Haight-Ashbury district, find a girl (or a guy) and sleep under a hibiscus bush? Let's split this dead scene and go on a trip!" This is how it usually happens. Once they become a part of the hippie environment, new influences begin making themselves felt. Hippies we interviewed in San Francisco said they ran away from home; began taking LSD once or twice a week, depending on the circumstances; and didn't really know or care where their next meal was coming from. Happy? Oh, they might seem to be enjoying it for awhile, until the novelty wears off. But after a certain length of time, with nothing to do but sleep in a dirty, grimy pad with several others, roam the streets all day, or "make love" under a tree in the park; sooner or later the appeal begins to wear off. The "wonderful world" of hippieland turns out to be just as bleak and dreary and boring as the outside, straight world! Flower power turns out to be impotent and weak. Stealing food when they become hungry, if they cannot get it any other way; nervous about "bad trips" on LSD; hearing of some jumping out third-story windows to their deaths; having friends who slash themselves with razor blades; many hippies — young, foolish kids-become concerned, anxious, careworn, troubled. Hippiedom turns out to be not so "beautiful" after all — but grotesque ugliness!
WHAT IS a Hippie?
Said a California sociologist, "The hippies are a barometer of our SICK SOCIETY." He added, "They are DROPOUTS who are turned off by the wars, poverty, political phoniness and the 'game' they see around them." Hippies tend to be young people. Most of them are teenagers, white, well educated. They tend to be from the middle class, although some come from the lower and higher classes as well. They are sick-disgusted with the war in Vietnam and war in general, nuclear weapons, violence of any kind. They have REBELLED against society and turned away from its hypocrisy, shams and frauds. They are against the organization man, mass society, this computerized world we live in. They are against competition in business, the "rat race" to make a living and keeping up with the Joneses — and against Mom and Dad. What are they for? According to prevalent hippie thought, they are FOR universal peace, individual freedom, meditation, doing what comes naturally, giving in to their whims and fancies, lusts and appetites of the flesh. They are FOR having fun, enjoying themselves. They are FOR what they call "love" — which often means promiscuous sex, group lovemaking, homo sexuality, or whatever you want. They are against restrictions on sex-they are for "each one doing his own thing," as long as it doesn't hurt someone else! In other words, in hippiedom — virtually ANYTHING GOES! Symbolizing their utter REBELLION against society, the hippies have established their own standards of living, their own fashions. They desire to be DIFFERENT. You've probably seen them-all wearing the same type of paraphernalia. It's amazing-they all seek to be different, and all end up dressing much the same! The hippie uniform consists of something like bell-bottom trousers or sawed-off jeans; a pack of beads, a string of bells, a feather or flowers in the hair; wide belt with big buckle; boots, moccasins or bare feet. Above all, however, you notice a hippie by his straggly, disheveled, long, DIRTY hair! Hippie girls usually have long hair combed straight; bright colorful dresses (sometimes just plain with psychedelic buttons or emblems) ; and don't forget the beads, flowers and bells. The hippies' wild dress and long hair are the symbols of rebellion against society! According to a Dr. Ross Greek, seventy percent of the hippies are school dropouts and forty percent come from broken homes. They are full of FEARS- fear of war, fear of life, fear of responsibility, fear of losing out. They are mostly loners and losers with an unhappy past. Other than their attitude toward society, and their odd dress, there are TWO basic ingredients of the average hippie: Sexual promiscuity and Drugs.
Morals of an Alley Cat
"Love is everything"-or at least so the hippies claim. They sport protest buttons proclaiming "MAKE LOVE NOT WAR," "Support Nudity," "I'm Available," "Take it Off," etc. Disillusioned, cynical, BORED with the "straight" world, increasingly young people across the country want to try every new thing. They are enticed by the hippie world of FREE SEX, which really isn't free at all, as young runaway girls can tell you. Such girls running away from home, often become part of the hippie scene. They migrate to the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco, California, or some other hippie hangout. Once there, they find the world isn't so rosy and peace-hued in hippieland. In order to obtain food and water, and drugs for a thrill, and the bare essentials of living, such girls become sexual objects. They make "love" and go to bed with whoever offers them what they want or need, or whoever drifts into their life. Hippies, believing in FREE LOVE, exhibit the morals of a common alley cat. Any kind of sex goes-man and woman, man and man, woman and woman, or even "group" sex. Casual sex among hippies abounds. Venereal diseases — syphilis and gonorrhea-are rampant among them, reaching epidemic proportions! Many don't even bother to go to health clinics for treatment any more. They don't seem to care what may happen tomorrow — they are living for TODAY! Sex is engaged in openly in the parks, or beneath semi open bushes. Hippies don't really care who sees them as they kiss, fondle each other, or go all the way. Because of this promiscuous way of life, babies are being born DAILY infected with VD. In New York City venereal disease is epidemic-cases have risen a shocking 500 percent in 10 years. One half of them are TEEN-AGERS! Does that fact alarm you? In San Francisco, the epicenter of hippiedom, the incidence of VD has risen SIX TIMES in two years. The skyrocketing VD rate in Los Angeles is no better. But the VD rate among Los Angeles hippies is SIX TIMES the city rate as a whole! Nationwide, the incidence of gonorrhea is EPIDEMIC in almost all metropolitan centers. There are THREE TO FOUR MILLION CASES annually-but only 10 percent of them are reported! It is the leading bacterial infection in adults — believe it or not! Gonorrhea can lead to endocarditis, a serious heart ailment; meningitis; sterility in men; and can cause BLINDNESS IN CHILDREN! More than HALF of the cases are among young people under 25 years of age. How does that strike you? These things no longer occur across town, or just on the other side of the "tracks." The boy or girl next door could be infected — or YOUR OWN CHILDREN could be in danger! According to Robin Lugar, Public Health Adviser in Los Angeles, "The chances of a hippie who believes in FREE LOVE contracting gonorrhea or syphilis or both is 100 percent"! It's time you became . CONCERNED!
THE DRUG CULT
But even more bizarre and dangerous than the horrible immorality and venereal disease is the DRUG SCENE. Crime statistics reveal that drug addicts cause 50 percent of the crime in cities in the United States-a staggering figure. This total of crime in the cities is equivalent to 25 percent of the crime in the entire nation! There are 50,000 known addicts in the U.S. Drug usage, however, is not decreasing-IT IS SKYROCKETING fantastically! California drug arrests in 1966 soared over 1965 statistics. Adults with 92 percent more arrests; juveniles with 87 percent more! Marijuana violations were higher still: Adults-71 percent over 1965; juveniles, 140 percent! Reports indicate usage of LSD among college students in California is "NEAR EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS"! Make no mistake — these horrifying facts are not getting any better. They are steadily WORSENING! Who knows? Your son or daughter could be involved-either now, or very soon! In England, the situation is even worse. After legalizing drug traffic several years ago, hoping that would do away with the problem, the English are finding what a serious mistake they made. In seven years heroin addiction has risen 1000 percent. Can you believe it? That is TEN TIMES the 1960 rate! In Birmingham, HALF the teen-agers have tried drugs; two percent are addicted, and another five percent are hovering on the verge! Among some hippies, however, drug taking is not just a fad, or a fact of life- IT IS A RELIGION! Many of them seek inner peace and divine revelation through the sacrament of LSD. Said Dr. Louis J. West, "Marijuana is the glue that holds the hippie movement together and LSD is the sacrament THAT HAS PROVIDED IT WITH SPIRITUAL IDENTITY." Dr. West is head of the department of psychiatry, neurology, and behavioral science at the University of Oklahoma.
The Religion of LSD
Hippie religion was somewhat expressed by the several hippies we talked to in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The hippie faith is a weird blending of this world's Christianity and Oriental paganism. It is a potpourri of superstition and spirituality. Most hippies, however, deprecate the churches of the western world. They see the hypocrisy of denominational rivalry, they see the so-called "Christian" wars of the Middle Ages when "good" Protestants and "good" Catholics fought each other to the death. The hippies look at World Wars I and II and see that "good" German Christians desperately fought against "good" British and American Christians. Such religious confusion, such incredible hypocrisy, simply turns them off. They see Christ was a man of Peace; but they don't see much peace among this world's Christians! Therefore, most hippies abhor western churches in general. Nevertheless, they do look upon Christ Himself as the hip guru of His day. Said one Los Angeles hippie, "Christ studied the occult. He learned to walk on water." The influence of Oriental mysticism and paganism, however, is strong among hippies. Many are deeply interested in Buddha, the rites of Hinduism, and hundreds of hippies in San Francisco have gathered early on spring mornings to literally worship the sun, the "giver of all life"! Some have reverted to their own interpretation of ancient Baalism! They search for cosmic consciousness through the medium of LSD. It brings them close to nirvana and teaches them love. Many other hippies go for Ouija boards, numerology, extra sensory perception, palm reading, fortune telling, and astrology. Black magic is another black art practiced by some. A few hippie witches in the Haight-Ashbury district celebrate black masses in praise and worship of Satan the Devil. Many hippies are devotees of Hindu mysticism and avidly follow the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (chief guru or priest of the Beatles) and swami A. C. Bhaktivedanta from Bengal. Others are chiefly inspired by Zen Buddhism. The hippie Neo-American Church relies heavily on the sacrament of LSD. Priests or pastors are called, semi-humorously "boohoos." Prayers are taken from Buddhist liturgies and yoga is practiced. Perhaps you have seen pictures or films of hippies, sometimes "high" on LSD or marijuana, gathered together in a circle, holding hands, and sonorously chanting "OOOOoooooommm," as they are led in meditation and prayer by the chief guru present who chants esoteric mystical (meaningless?) words of inspiration. Wrote Harvard Theologian Harvey Cox, "Hippieness has all the marks of a new religious movement." But most theologians are not alarmed about the hippie religion. They just see it as a mixture of drugs, poetry, paganism and pseudo — intellectual Oriental mysticism. No doubt that many of the hippies are sincere in their new-found faith, however. On the other hand, to many of them, it is an excuse-a-justification-for having a lark and doing as they please. Hippies look on Christ as a "very groovy cat." Buddha they highly admire for his philosophy. Even the Catholic St. Francis of Assisi they consider a forerunner of their movement. The leaders in the hippie mysticism are called "gurus" and borrow heavily from Yoga, Buddhism and Oriental practices such as burning incense. Dr. Timothy Leary, the high priest of the LSD movement and head of the League of Spiritual Discovery (initials LSD), claimed, "The kids in the United States today who are taking LSD tend to be from our best colleges." He mentioned Berkeley Hippies and spectators at Hyde Park, England. Signs symbolize hippie desires — to have unrestricted use of drugs and generally to do as they please. Hippie idea to eat, drink and be merry — for tomorrow we die, reveals the hopelessness they feel. Harvard, Yale and Chicago, and said, "These are kids who are searching. They want more ... And the more isn't the Bible, it isn't the conventional religion . .." Continued Leary, "The 'more' is always in here. Start your own religion. Start your own country. Don't buy any of the old codes. They are static and canned. Write your own Ten Commandments." Leary predicted that within 15 years the United States will have an LSD orthodoxy, an LSD President, and a pot-smoking Supreme Court! Where is this movement arising? Where is it beginning? What are its roots? It is beginning with HIPPIEDOM! Tired and bored with the old values, the intellectual, thinking hippies (apart from those just out for a "kick") are out to RE-MAKE THE WORLD! They eventually hope to conquer the world with the dazzling force of FLOWER POWER! It may seem like a joke — but it is talked about, thought about, and seriously envisioned by many proponents of hippiedom!
The CURSE of Flower Power
But let's stop and see just what "flower power" means — and what it has already done to those who propose it. Look at the San Francisco "Hashbury" scene. There, says one doctor, the use of drugs is 100 percent. Further, the incidence of respiratory infection among the hippies is almost UNIVERSAL, "and there's an awful lot of hepatitis and venereal disease." He speaks of more serious drug problems involving the use of "meth" (methamphetamine) leading to hallucinations, paranoia and psychoses. Hippies and proponents of LSD say that use of drugs "turns you on," "tunes you in," gives you a vivid, beautiful introspection of yourself. They claim it is really living-an invaluable experience — that unless you've taken LSD you haven't begun to LIVE! And they claim these drugs, if used discreetly, are perfectly SAFE. Just how true ARE these claims? Are marijuana, LSD, the amphetamines really harmless? Here are the sobering FACTS: Although hippies deny it, smoking "joints" or "reefers" of marijuana paves the way for greater dependence on drugs later on. Police statistics show that virtually all users of HEROIN — "h," or "horse" — began by using marijuana and progressed from there! From marijuana, the novice progresses to LSD; then to "speed" — methadrine or dexedrine benzedrine; and then to hard narcotics such as heroin! Not all go all the way, of course. But does everybody have to get "hooked" before we wake up to the insidious DANGERS of marijuana? Marijuana is called "grass," "pot," "Acapulco gold," "Mary Jane," "weed tea," and "kif." An individual under its influence tends to lose his coordination and yet feels omnipotent. In other words, he's not in his right mind. He has inflated feelings of self power. He loses a true sense of proportions. Such feelings can be DANGEROUS! What about LSD? LSD (or lysergic acid diathalomide) is an extremely dangerous, unpredictable drug. Out of 114 cases of LSD victims hospitalized at Bellevue Hospital in New York City recently, 13 percent entered the hospital with overwhelming PANic; 12 percent were uncontrollably VIOLENT; almost nine percent ATTEMPTED HOMICIDE OR SUICIDE! Nearly fourteen percent of the cases had to be sent to a mental institution for lengthy treatment-but half of them had no previous history of psychiatric disorder. Experiments and case histories also show that LSD can cause chromosomal damage and mental or physical abnormalities in babies! Just one LSD "trip" can cause offspring of the "tripper" to be born malformed, or retarded — or both! Doctors know that those who take LSD run great risks of acute depression, psychoses and insanity, and VIOLENT reactions! LSD is no child's plaything. You've probably read several accounts of bizarre behavior of people on LSD. One young man on LSD stood in the middle of a freeway, "playing" with the cars as if they were "toys" — until he got killed. Another tore off his clothes and ran shrieking, naked through the countryside proclaiming he was Christ the Saviour. Another climbed a tree in the nude and began baying at the moon. One young fellow, also naked, ran into the streets brandishing a sword and tried to kill a policeman. Hundreds and thousands of similar cases could be cited. But these are sufficient to PROVE that LSD IS DANGEROUS! Heroin is basically the problem of the school dropout a serious problem of the blighted areas of large cities. Most users of heroin are Mexicans, Negroes, or Puerto Ricans. More than 50 percent of the nation's heroin addicts are in New York City where the problem is staggering!
VIOLENCE Among the Flower Children
Although they speak "Peace," and proclaim "Love," there is not as much peace and love among the hippies as you might think. The hippie community seethes with hatreds, persecution complexes, muggings, rapes, murders, suicides, and all kinds of VIOLENCE! The hippies have withdrawn from the world, but have not conquered their own HUMAN NATURE! They still find themselves to be vain, full of ego and selfishness. They are found to cheat, steal, lie. Jealousies crop up, antagonisms arise and drugs sometimes tum them into vicious MONSTERS! One of the saddest aspects of hippiedom is the preoccupation among some with death. "Death is a groove," they think and to experience it, some attempt suicide. Hippies may be pictured as gentle, peace-loving young people, but such is not always the case. Many pack weapons, and assaults on other hippies are common occurrences. There can be no doubt about it-crime and violence, dope addiction and MURDER go hand-in-hand! Sociologist Lewis Yablonsky conducted a national survey of the hippies. He estimates that some 40 percent of the hard-core hippies have turned into "SPEED FREAKS" or "METH MONSTERS"-that is, users of methadrine. What happens to a "speed freak"? Said one hippie high priestess, "The first time on speed is a beautiful high, but then it twists your head up and you become weird and violent. You can kill someone in a minute." It should be plain and CLEAR to any logical, plain-thinking human being that hippiness is not the way of HAPPINESS but the way of horror! It's fruits are not good. They are often HORRIFYING! Drug-taking may seem pleasant to the beginner; but there is an awful penalty; it BOOMERANGS! Drug abuse leads to a six-by-six plot in the ground at a premature age. Says one authority, after a person first uses "speed," his or her LIFE EXPECTANCY is a SHORT FIVE YEARS! The strange world of the hippie, often thought of as a peaceful, serene world of psychedelic pleasure and hedonism turns out to be a shortcut to death! It turns into a frankensteinian world of ugliness, derangement and violence!
EXPLODING Drug Use
An NBC Special Report stated that one ton of marijuana is consumed in San Francisco in a week's time. Drug use has exploded among juveniles. It crosses all class barriers, hits all sectors of society. Across the bay in Oakland, an 18-month survey of the University of California indicated that use of marijuana among children "is increasing fantastically." Sa4d the report, drug usage by some teen-agers in Oakland is "as common as eating breakfast." All classes-all strata of society-rich and poor and middle class — are affected. Sergeant William R. Young, a special investigating officer of the Fresno County, California sheriff's department, declared, "The increase has been TERRIFIC." "It's the thing to do." Among college students, the use of drugs is virtually epidemic in some areas. It has replaced sex as the biggest "kick" available. Sex nowadays, it seems, is easily attainable and taken for granted. It has lost some of its "come-hither" glamour. But the use of drugs is fast becoming the greatest "thrill" and the sought-after experience. Just how many students use marijuana and LSD is anybody's guess. But estimates for Princeton University hover around 15 percent, while estimates for San Francisco State College are 50 percent! "Potheads" — or marijuana smokers-undoubtedly number in the millions, and their numbers are swelling continuously! Some estimates range as high as TEN MILLION that have smoked pot at least one time or more. Drugs are taken on almost EVERY American college campus! Today, more than six million students are attending some college or university. A Gallup Poll of students at 426 American colleges revealed that on the whole, about six ,percent of the students questioned had tried marijuana; perhaps one percent had used LSD. This survey would seem to indicate that at least 360,000 active, full-time college students have tried marijuana, and at least 60,000 have "tripped" on LSD. A poll taken at UCLA revealed that 33 percent-one out of three interviewed-have used marijuana, and seven percent have sampled the hallucinatory drug LSD. Even California's "brain-trust" college — Caltech - is afflicted by drug use. About 20 percent of students at Caltech have used marijuana and nine percent have used LSD. In New York, Thomas A. Facelle Jr., senior assistant District Attorney of White Plains, said, "It has become the height of sophistication in the schools and colleges to use marijuana. "The problem is staggering. It is tremendous. We must take the sophistication out of marijuana use," he added. Another official called marijuana a "PLAGUE-LIKE DISEASE, slowly but surely strangling our young people." While society sleeps, while people go on in their day-by-day routine, the DRUG problem continues worsening. The tragic thing is that parents are NOT AWARE of the danger! Most are sleeping at the switch-unconcerned, oblivious, and certain that it couldn't happen to their child! But it could! Make no mistake! The problem of DRUG ABUSE is reaching EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS — it is "staggering," "terrific," "tremendous," just to use a few of the words of those who know the facts. It is reaching a CRISIS! Are you aware of the peril? Or are you drugged yourself, by the somnolent sound of your television set? YOUR CHILD COULD BE NEXT!! That is, if he hasn't already been enticed and ensnared! Yes, your child could become a hippie-a washout, a dropout from society! But just what makes a hippie? How is a hippie created?
HOW to MAKE a Hippie
Hippies are made, not born. There are several causes which contribute to the making of a hippie. First, give a child a society where almost everybody practices a double standard. Where cheating and lying and thievery are a way of life. Where the churches are hollow shells without real spiritual power. Where paradoxes and hypocrisy abound. Do this, and you are well on your way to making a "hippie." Second, give a child a broken home-or an unhappy home where love between the parents is absent. Give him (or her) freedom to do as he pleases. Don't check up on him when he goes out with his friends. Let him (or her) grow up in an atmosphere of tolerance and permissiveness. Let him or her see the hate, the jealousy, the arguments and strife between Mom and Dad. Do this, and your chances of producing a hippie are better, yet! Third, make sure there is a lack of communication in your home. Let your kids grow up without guidance. Let family conversation be replaced by the glittering TV screen. Don't talk to your children much. Don't pay attention as they begin to develop emotional problems and feelings of insecurity because of your parental neglect. Just ignore their problems, thinking they'll grow out of them. Let a "credibility gap" grow between you and your children. Now your chances of having a hippie are rated as "VERY GOOD"! Fourth, make sure your children develop a good fear of the future, and fear of society. Let them grow fearful-just as you are-of nuclear war, the space race, war in Vietnam. Let them see your own insecurity and make sure they know there are "no solutions" to the world's ills. As your boys and girls grow, and become aware of world events-and SEE that the world is a lit powder keg of explosive violence-they will naturally begin seeking some way out, some way of ESCAPE from it all. They will begin to REJECT the world that you — their elders — have bequeathed to them! This is a fine step to creating a hippie! Fifth, as they grow they will see the phoniness, the shams in society. They will become aware of the lack of love between people in general. They will see how the "rat race" works; how competitive men are the ones who get ahead; how dishonesty is the way to achieve success in this world. Yes, let them see this miserable EXAMPLE and grow sick and disgusted with the world. Let them see the calloused unconcern, the public apathy which is all-pervasive in this society. Let them have their own little teen-age world cut off from yours. Let them retreat into their own world of Beatles, pop music, wild parties and teen-age dances. You are really on your way to making a hippie, now! Sixth, be sure to allow the degenerative influences of this SICK, SICK SOCIETY to rub off on them. Let them get their "belly full." Allow them to do whatever comes natural. Be permissive, as the schools are. Allow them to wallow and revel in loud, clamorous "music" embellished with 150-watt amplifiers. Let them do pretty much as they please. With the world leading them on, with no good example set by parents, with the world teetering on the brink of destruction, with HIPPIEDOM becoming more attractive to them, with their anger mounting toward YOUR generation, they are BOUND to become hippies! Finally, seventh, add the ingredient of HUMAN NATURE, which is basically vanity, selfishness, jealousy, lust and greed! Give them this inner craving to please and gratify their own bodies. Let them read the degenerate trash so widespread and easily available today. Let them give free reign to their human lusts and appetites. NEVER CORRECT THEM. Or, if you do, be sure to do it harshly; or just give them a slap on the wrist. NEVER punish them righteously, justly, in proper balance with good, firm discipline and instruction. Let them see your own basic lawlessness and disrespect of the law, police and constituted authorities. Let them see how YOU flout the law whenever you can get away with it! IF YOU DO THESE THINGS — then there is no need to worry about it-YOU WILL succeed! Before you know it, as soon as your child reaches the mid-teens, he or she will become a "teeny — bopper" just one step away from out-and-out hippie. And then, as soon as he or she goes through that stage of the metamorphosis, BEHOLD! You HAVE CREATED A "HIPPIE"!
The SICK, SICK Society
What is the real significance of the new "hip" subculture? What does it mean for You? Said historian Arnold Toynbee, hippies are "a red warning light for the American way of life"! He is right! Hippies, with their flower power, may not be able to much CHANGE the world. By dropping out of society, they will not much CHANGE society. They themselves are victims of the same hypocrisy and double standards which they so volubly reject. They themselves are GUILTY of phoniness, shams, pretense and self-delusion. The surrealistic world of distorted hallucinations, the kaleidoscopic world of bizarre drug-induced, mind-expanding, mind — boggling, mind-warping and twisting sensations is only the hippies' ESCAPE from reality. It does not enable them to CHANGE reality. It merely offers them a dreamland fantasy into a world which exists only in the drug-garbled imagination. Hippiism, itself, will never change the world; and the prophecies of Dr. Timothy Leary that one day there will be an LSD President and pot-smoking Supreme Court are a lot of wistful thinking on his part. Hippiedom is not creative; it is degenerative. It is not mind-expanding, although some claim so; it is mind-weakening, mind-deteriorating, mind-shattering. It is not an explosive, potent new force in society; it is a weak offshoot, and a strange return to primitive living. However, hippiism is not just another fad, like goldfish swallowing, as some have suggested. It does have great MEANING for us, today! It has dire portent for YOU. Understand! Hippiism has RESULTED from the sickness of society. It could never have arisen in the first place, and could never have gained such seemingly widespread popularity among hundreds of thousands, except for the fact that SOCIETY IS SICK! There is something WRONG, something deadly, something SERIOUSLY FATAL about this present world! Hippiism PROVES that fact. Those who become hippies SEE much of what is wrong with the world; they SEE the hypocrisy, the phoniness, the hollow shams, the dishonesty, the dog-eat-dog competition, the threat that mankind will wipe itself off the face of the earth; they SEE the threat of land, water and air pollution; they SEE all the horrendous PROBLEMS in the world-but they retreat into their own selfish little drugged world. THEY DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER the solutions—TO THESE AWESOME WORLD PROBLEMS! They see clearly that something is wrong; but they don't know what to DO about it! Instead of attempting to solve these world problems, they "drop acid, turn on, tune in, and drop out." They drop out of the picture. They go nowhere — fast. They ignore reality and ''get high" on drugs-which is their method of coping with world problems. Get stoned on drugs, they seem to say, and you can cope with ANY problem. Needless to say, such a solution is worse than NO solution-for it merely ignores the true problem and lets it grow WORSE while the hippie dreams his way through the shadows, and shapes of oddly unreal, vivid but distorted images of a phony world.
ESCAPE to Nowhere!
To anyone with a sensible, sound mind it is obvious that hippies don't have the answer to life's real problems. The solution is not mass demonstrations, "wade-ins," "be-ins," "love-ins." Spiritual discovery and revelation through LSD does not lead to knowing the true God, nor does it lead to happier, joyful, abundant living. The hippie scene leads nowhere. The hippie world IS NOWHERE! LSD is not a mind-awakening drug but a powerful poison which can derange the mind, scramble the brain, and KILL! Using LSD is a chemical method of playing the age-old game of Russian roulette. Hippies are not the changing force needed to set right the many wrongs of this sick world. They are simply the BAROMETER OF OUR SICK SOCIETY! They illustrate in vivid language and vivid colors the utter BANKRUPTCY of this world's values and this society's standards! But two wrongs don't make a right. Degeneracy will never purify society. "Dropping out" only curses the one who drops, alienates the so-called "establishment", and accomplishes nothing constructive. There are perfectly logical, obvious and even "intellectual" reasons why a hippie becomes a hippie. And, like so many seemingly irrational movements, sects, or cults, there is a certain degree of TRUTH mixed in with much error in hippie thinking. They, like so many millions of non-hippie "establishment" yoked Americans can SEE many of the sickening national conditions that threaten our very survival. They see the double — standards; the hypocrisy, the cheating, the crime, the divorce, the marital infidelity and unhappiness; they see corruption at all levels of life; and this they see accurately. Too, many teen-agers are "turned off" by incredibly unqualified parents who literally force their children into a life of near-rebellion by calloused indifference. Children, growing into young adulthood, begin to think. They think about some of the big issues for a change. Childhood fantasy is replaced with awakening interest in the world around them. But seeing the Bomb, the Space Race, the war in Vietnam, and a myriad other problems, that interest soon turns to concern-even fear. But how often do teens find sincere willingness to listen in parents! How much real communication is there in the average American home between parents and growing young teenagers—even if they don't become virtual dropouts from society? Remember your first infatuation; your first tragedy; your first "most embarrassing moment"? Whom did you tell about it? With whom did you share it? Who seemed most interested in your problems? Most probably, others your own age. Millions of American youths, while not "hippies" in the sense that they are portrayed here, are still very much in sympathy with much of the hippie "philosophy." And NO WONDER. Unchallenged, un-stimulated, unnoticed, they feel the adult society is "down on kids," and develop resentments against anyone over 30. They sincerely feel life is a drab bore to anyone of such advanced age; that sex is, if not impossible for them, no fun-and that their business and social lives are a dull business, indeed. Perhaps, in too many cases, they're right. In short, disillusionment with adult society; rejection by parents; resentments toward frightening world conditions all play a part in causing young people to "drop out." Put all this together with the seemingly exciting attractions of wild "pop" and "folk" music — the mystery of mind-expanding drugs; euphoric sensations of marijuana and the lurid enticement of "love" and sex-and you've got a powerfully potent psychological narcotic for otherwise disinterested teen-agers. None of this makes it RIGHT. But it's about time millions of parents faced up to the fact they can't talk to their children! They can't communicate with them; they can't "understand" them, and so they just quit trying. So, it would seem obvious, some "hippies" are sincere. But nowhere near all. "As one outspoken hippie declared, in talking with the police the other night, 'I'd say that of 500 hippies out here on the grass tonight, maybe ten of them are really sincere about love and peace and all that. The rest of us are just here for the game" (By Don Duncan, The Seattle Times, Sept. 5, 1967). That's why many parents are shocked to find their "model" child at the police station for violation of curfew laws, dressed in a hippie uniform! Nowhere near all "hippies" have conviction or sincere belief in some particular philosophy; thousands of them are merely out for "kicks." Kicks in the form of drugs, sex, and whatever else happens along! Many a mother has been shocked to see her otherwise nicely dressed daughter in a police station with bare feet, loud psychedelic clothing, and sporting a bearded, long-haired boyfriend. So not all "hippies" are really hippies, after all. And not all of them are sincere. What, then, IS the answer? What IS the solution to this world's many-faceted, multi-hued problems? is there an answer-short of nuclear war and blasting all life off the face of the planet earth? Do YOU KNOW of any possible answer? Well, believe it or not, this world IS going to be set straight and made right in less than twenty years from now! Sound impossible, ridiculous? Well, IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN- and if you're alive then, you'll live to see it with your own two eyes! There WILL soon be peace in our generation. There will be worldwide peace-no more war, fighting, bloodshed, revolts, revolutions, or violence. There will be unpolluted waters, lands, and fresh air everywhere to breathe-no more septic rivers, polluted lakes, contaminated air, smog, and filth. That day is soon coming. NOTHING an stop it! If you want to know more about it, and HOW it is going to happen, then write NOW for our free booklet The Wonderful World Tomorrow-What It Will Be Like. It explains the truth in simple, easy-to-understand, vivid language. It makes the truth PLAIN! You've never read another booklet like it, revealing in great, interesting detail just what is prophesied to happen within the next fifteen, twenty, twenty-five years! This booklet will show you the way this world is, today, and it will reveal in graphic, vivid detail just HOW this world's "insoluble problems" are going to be SOLVED-once and for all time! It thoroughly analyzes what's wrong with this world. It shows the problems in government, education, international relations, science and religion. It shows that of himself, man simply has no hope — but yet, there IS hope! And then, in interesting, mind-gripping truth, it PROVES how within twenty or thirty short years from now, this world is going to have the most WONDERFUL PEACE and PROSPERITY ever dreamed of or thought of in the hearts and minds of men. There will be UTOPIA, at last! Do you believe it? Don't look at this present world and become disillusioned and discouraged, and give up on real living. Don't be a "dropout." Don't allow yourself to be tempted to turn to the world of "acid" and "pot" for thrills and chills. Before you do another thing, please read this free booklet which explains how YOU can have an abundant life and live on into that fantastically glorious, wonderful world tomorrow! The Wonderful World Tomorrow - What It Will Be Like — there has never been another booklet like it, anywhere. Your free copy is waiting for you! Also, if you have children and are concerned about their future-if you don't want them to become hippies and drop-outs of society, be sure to read our invaluable booklet The Plain Truth About Child Rearing. It will show you the right way to bring up children so they will grow up to be outstanding successes in life! This literature is waiting for you. Read it, free of charge, NOW, before you forget it!