Hippie

A term used for members of the counter-culture of the 1960's who opted to "drop out (of school and the career rat race), turn on (by taking psychedelic drugs) and tune in (to alternative ways of understanding and experiencing life)", rejecting the materialistic and commercial values of the society around them. The non-violent movement was largely in response to the the Vietnam War, and used the slogan "peace and love." Hippie culture also became associated with rock and roll music, recreational drug use, "free love, as reflected by the slogan "drugs, sex and rock'n'roll." Hippies wore their hair long, and favored faded jeans worn with colorful clothing. Many hippies experimented with alternative living arrangements such as communes, where all work and all posessions were shared. In the movie "Easy Rider" the protagonists visit a hippie commune in California. Tom Wolfe's account of Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters in his book "The Electric Acid Test" documented one aspect of the hippie scene. Hippies were preceded by the counter-culture beatnik movement in the 1950's.

Conservatives are still easily moved to eye-bulging rage at the mere thought of the hippy counter-culture, which rejected all they hold dear, and use the term "hippy" as a pejorative. There is, of course, a certain irony in the fact that the hippies probably lived a more Christian lifestyle than most conservatives, based as it was on peace, love and a disdain for material posessions.