Hippies and the New Agers

I know a number of people who used to be hippies, and I am angry at how bad=
ly they have been misrepresented. People claim that they had no morals and =
that they were not in touch with reality.

No, they very much did have morals. They fought for better treatment of wor=
kers. They fought for better treatment of women. They fought for better tre=
atment of black people. They fought for better treatment of the environment=
. They had better morals than the people who have been attacking them.

Were they not in touch with reality? I think they were very much in touch w=
ith reality. They put a lot of effort into addressing issues that in many c=
ases did not even impact on them personally. Similarly some people think th=
at I don=E2=80=99t live in reality, but I=E2=80=99ve put in huge effort int=
o addressing all sorts of issues impacting upon all sorts of people.

Now to be fair, some of these people became jerks even when they didn=E2=80=
=99t start out as ones. There are some in the New Age who think that everyt=
hing that happens to people is a reflection of what=E2=80=99s in their cons=
ciousness, and that the person is responsible for everything that happens t=
o him. I am privileged, and this idea stands to work in my favor. I reject =
it for moral reasons. This kind of thinking would justify any crime under t=
he sun under the claim that the person to whom it happens is causing it.

I have a friend who has had a constant unbearable migraine since age 22. He=
r New Age relatives claimed that she was causing it deliberately in order t=
o avoid taking responsibility for her life. Eventually she found the right =
treatment; but she lost 30 years. It is completely wrong to claim that she =
deliberately brought it about. Sometimes things just happen, and it=E2=80=
=99s nobody=E2=80=99s fault.

Saying that you cause everything that happens to you is easy for you, and i=
t is easy for me. It is not as easy for my friend, and it=E2=80=99s not as =
easy for folks in Haiti. In fact you didn=E2=80=99t cause everything that h=
appens to you. Your situation is not owed only to yourself. It is also owed=
 to parents who raised you, teachers who educated you, military and police =
that protect you, business and labor that provide your prosperity, and inte=
llectuals and Freemasons who gave you your liberty. And it is important tha=
t people be reminded of this, as many tend to forget.

Is it valid to work on yourself? Of course it is. But it is not valid to ig=
nore the world while you are at it. I do both; I recommend that other peopl=
e do both. It is important both to be the best person that you can be and t=
o contribute what you stand to contribute.

I want these people to regain the good values they had when they started. I=
 also want more people to avoid disinformation about these people. They sho=
uld not be getting demonized. Many of them came from the right place. And i=
t is important that this reality be understood and treated accordingly.