Were hippies right?
There’s more to today’s political mayhem than whether you voted for Trump or Clinton.
The overwhelming majority of Americans (75%) consists of people who either voted for Trump or didn’t bother to vote for anyone. A majority of them share a common motivation. It’s not that they support Trump or hate Clinton. It’s that they’re fed up with the status quo. “It ain’t workin’!” I wish our political representatives would catch up with the people they’re supposed to be leading or just get the hell out of our way and that’s about as likely as getting “None of the above” on the ballot.
Let’s lump together potential voters who believe and participate in the current political system and those who don’t. Call that box “politics,” put a lid on it and set it aside. Now, zoom out and look at some other facets of society besides politics from this perspective: “Were hippies right?”
Cheap thrills; low rent
Most hippies believed in legalized recreational marijuana; free love; same-sex marriage; the military-industrial complex; loud, live music; personal freedom; alternative spiritual beliefs; human rights for all; weird clothing and unconventional hair styles; protecting the environment; cheap thrills; affordable housing; organic food; community; compassion; the pursuit of personal excellence; and the lameness of the Republican and Democratic parties.
These are now more-or-less the views of the majority. The only areas where the mind-set of the 19th century still rules are politics, religion and business. In Eureka Springs, the only people who still believe in the economic and governmental model that came to fruition with Gerald L.K. Smith are those who think city council is doing just fine by championing tourism and ignoring the needs and rights of people who simply live here. Local government, throwback churches and the Chamber of Commerce are their last bastions of power and influence, withering away.
Love it or leave it?
In every other dimension, politicians and bible-thumpers are regarded as a minority of dinosaurs and ignored as an irrelevant nuisance. If that’s the way they want to live, then… OK. But they shouldn’t insist on telling us that their way of life is the only way we’re allowed to live our lives. Eureka’s one-party, pro-tourism establishment contemplates the future within an echo chamber of like-minded profiteers. The “people” have moved on beyond them. Expecting Eurekans to work within that intellectually bankrupt system is as insane as predicting Eurekans won’t smoke pot until it’s legal. That’s delusional! Like Trump.
From Washington to Eureka’s city hall, we live in an age of madness. Failure to adapt to changing conditions can be an evolutionary death sentence. Adapting is not the same as surrendering. Successful adaptation entails vision and innovation, not conformity and orthodoxy. That’s what the small community of Eureka Springs does best. And when it works, you don’t have to spend millions of our tax dollars on advertising to attract people to town. That’s millions of tax dollars that should be spent on making the town a better place to live instead of squandering it trying to promote our “image.”
Vernon Tucker