It’s odd, but I was thinking of a guy I knew forty years ago who inherited a small fortune from his family that publishes the Seattle Times. It was just two years after Woodstock, and the communal spirit was still alive, so he bought a three story brick building in a neighborhood commercial zone and turned it into a hive of hippie enterprise.

We had a cooperative grocery, flour mill, pottery studio, alternative media, stringed instrument repair, and community garden. The apartment on the top floor was mine for free, as he wanted someone to live in the building, but didn’t want any rent. Every day was a festival.

Today, there are many inheritors of unearned wealth in our society. Some even seem to care about what is happening. Putting their wealth to work for public good would not be that hard to do.

All you need is love.

The myth.

The movie.

Internal government documents obtained by ACLU suggest high-level concern that they’re turning Americans away from militarism, instead advocating social justice, including quality education, universal health care, and good living wage/essential benefits jobs – the direct opposite of current US policy under either dominant party.

Supported by Amnesty International in its efforts to feed the poor and educate the homeless, Food Not Bombs activists have been arrested over 1,000 times by San Francisco police alone.

If we’re battling against fraudulent values and inauthentic ways of life, then it’s best to attack them directly. Since yuppie values are explicitly anti-democratic, that would seem a more valid target than hippies who succumbed to a yuppie lifestyle. Authentic hippies made important contributions to our society; adding to the mainstream confusion and prejudice on the topic does no one any good.

Using an analogous situation might be helpful.

When New Agers began usurping traditional trappings, rituals and ceremonies of indigenous peoples, liberal pundits began berating aboriginal spirituality as unworthy of respect. As the intellectual property of tribal peoples, such things as shamanism were wrongly appropriated and misused, but deriding the cosmologies of original nations was equally wrong.

The same might be said when progressives excoriate Christianity as a whole, when many Christians play vital roles in fighting the same evils we seek to eviscerate.

As the rest of us struggle to survive the decline of our own civilizations, perhaps we will likewise find our voices and create our own forms of communication. By discussing the values we wish to protect, we might even find ways of freeing ourselves by uniting with the indigenous resurgence.

At the very least, hosting discussions free of market exclusion, government censure, and media influence, will allow us opportunities to also come out of the silence.

In his distillation of the collective wisdom of indigenous communities, Taiaiake emphasizes that strengthening connection to a place is crucial to fortifying emerging coalitions, connections and networks devoted to universal justice. As a person who is committed to living in a respectful way, Professor Alfred implores us to engage in this spiritual battle with an awareness of the meaning of place in our own cultural heritage.

With all the forces amassed to pull us in other directions, staying on the pathway of peace and righteousness, says Taiaiake, requires re-rooting ourselves in order to mentor others for the long struggle. As he reminds us, “The struggle’s not over”.

Peace Poodle Ebony

In early 2003, Ebony joined dogs worldwide in opposing the US invasion of Central Asia and the Middle East. Superdog Cosmo now continues her work in creating harmony and world peace.