Kat, are u into all-natural foods and possessions? Do you like, only eat organic foods and such? And do u own anything made out of hemp?
I try to live as naturally as possible. Of course, that isn't always feasible due to our dependence upon technology. I use towels and rags instead of paper towels most of the time to clean, I grow my own vegetables, buy organic and fair trade whenever I can, I use eco-friendly cleaning products made from common things like vinegar and baking soda. And I own quite a few balls of hemp cord, because I macrame my own jewelry.
What do you make of the oil crisis? Isn't it time that we *really* put more money into finding, researching, and developing alternative energy sources? And to let the corporations pay for the damage they caused, rather than letting the tax payers do that for them?
The BP oil tragedy is terrible. My stepson lives in Pensacola, Florida and they have blobs of oil all over their beaches. Pensacola's economy has been struggling for a few years now, and Summer tourism is their largest economic stimulus. Now that their beaches are closed, their economy is in trouble. Plus, the odor of the oil in the air has exacerbated his asthma. Personally, I find our dependence upon oil and lack of ambition to develop energy alternatives alarming. Tax payers should not have to foot the bill when a major corporation screws up, in my opinion.
So the thread as a whole came to the conclusion "new age" was difficult to define. How about "Hippie"? Why and how do you define yourself as a "hippie"?
Yeah, now that I think of it, I was probably using the term "New Age" more tongue-in-cheek than anything else. The whole "Age of Aquarius" deal. I reckon I'm more of an eclectic spiritualist. I consider myself a hippie born in the wrong generation. I was raised by hippie parents who had to try and publically mask their hippie tendencies in order to assimilate to the 1980s "gimme gimme gimme" culture and to appease my grandmother, who has lived with us from the time I was four years old.
To me, being a hippie goes beyond how you dress or what genre of music you listen to. Granted, I love bell bottom blue jeans, tie-dyed gauze shirts, Batik skirts, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, Buffalo Springfield. Although I must confess something rather "unhippie", and that is I don't much care for The Grateful Dead.
I'm largely a pacifist, anti-war, anti-racism/sexism/homophobia/classism...basically any of the "isms". Pro-Green Movement minus the consumerism aimed toward the movement (i.e., cleaning products specifically marketed as "green" or "eco-friendly" while costing twice as much as their carcinogenic counterparts). Pro-Fair Trade. I like the concept of intentional community (aka, communes or communal living) modeled after Marxist ideology, although I realize Communism could never be successfully implemented on a federal (or even state) level due to the potential for abuse. I believe in living as simply as possible, trying to avoid the trappings of consumerism, and repurposing goods. I also believe there is nothing wrong with being proud of your country of origin or a country you have migrated to, but on the same token we're all citizens of the same earth.