can a non-"hippie" be a free thinker?

[oldblue]

what do you think? must one be a member of the counterculture (whatever that is)?

I love this story:

A humble poet was invited to a sumptuous banquet at the emperor’s grand palace. When the poet arrived in his usual frayed garments and worn shoes, the king remarked that no man so dressed would be seated at his banquet table. The emperor ordered the poet to be taken away and dressed in the finest clothes. When the poet returned to the banquet hall wearing gorgeous silk garments with golden threads, he was seated at the table. When the order to commence eating was given, the poet promptly poured his food on his beautiful new clothes. The emperor was outraged and told the poet he could have him executed for the insult. “Why did you do it?” he asked the poet The poet replied: “It was obvious you wanted to feed my clothing and not me.”

[okeedoe]

The emperor fed the poet's clothing,the poet fed his intelectual vanity , the axe fed on the poet's head and everybody was happy.

I like happy endings.

[oldblue]

The emperor fed the poet's clothing,the poet fed his intelectual vanity , the axe fed with the poet's head and everybody was happy.

I like happy endings.

where did it say he was executed. did i miss something?

[plasticfantastic]

I should think it goes without saying that it is impossible to label a free-thinker as only one thing. Just by nature of it, I feel like the word "free-thinker" would suggest a lot of different kinds of people. I also don't think that all hippies are free-thinkers. A lot of people talked the talk and wore the paisley, but that doesn't mean they were free thinkers. In fact, many of them were outright followers.

[SaturdayAfternoon]

It's all in your mind.
What is free?
People have the freedom to think, but does this mean we are free thinkers?

[nicktecky]

ONLY.

If you accept the label you are not free.

[Susan Butcher]

The poet's protest was ostentatious and unnecessary. A curly false moustache added to the ensemble would have been sufficient.

(There's a Christian parable along these lines where the King is God, the dinner party Heaven, and the fine clothing the right spiritual attitude or something. The sap who arrives without the formal attire gets chucked into the outer darkness.)

[oldblue]

The poet's protest was ostentatious and unnecessary. A curly false moustache added to the ensemble would have been sufficient.

(There's a Christian parable along these lines where the King is God, the dinner party Heaven, and the fine clothing the right spiritual attitude or something. The sap who arrives without the formal attire gets chucked into the outer darkness.)

slice or dice it anyway you want but the guy still spoke the truth and ain't' that (and not some form of political correctness) what's important?

[redrabid]

Just back from my favorite vacation destination Antalya (in Turkey, for the miseducated ones among us), I can only say: The "hippies" might have seen themselves as free, but were they ever caught in the act of "thinking"?

[Susan Butcher]

If I had to confront someone with my idea of truth, I'd try to do it with good humour. A humble poet? A self-righteous hippy with a huge ego is a monster. I've known some in my time.

[redrabid]

This topic, OldBlue, is going nowhere I think. And that is a shame because it raised an interesting question: What (if anything) did the hippies/the counterculture contribute to "free thinking"? Did they contribute anything comparable to the insights offered by 60's feminism for instance?
For me the answer is: nothing at all (as Plasticfantastic already hinted at), unless you value the halfdigested Indian "wisdom", the esoteric believes a la Madame Blavatsky (ca1900), called "spiritual" nowadays, "there is more between heaven and earth". My a bit bitchy remark about geographic ignorance was provoked by the mostly Americam backpackers I met in Turkey. So stupid, so blind, so imperceptive of their surroundings: Coming from different cultures we met in a fascinating country, that in many ways is alien to us, and the most important question they asked was: "Are you a Libra"? Oh God, save us from astrology. So stupid, but rich enough to travel around the world. But their sunglasses, coloured by second hand hippie-ideology, prevented that they saw the "real" world.
By the way, I had a fantastic vacation, I just avoided the backpackers, if I could.
About your story: Susan is right, I think, it has more layers than at first perceived.

[Susan Butcher]

It wasn't all theosophical bullshit, RR. The idea that humans are part of the fabric of life on Earth, rather than heroic plunderers, was given credence by psychedelic experiences. That wasn't the usual way of thinking before the mid-Sixties.

[usedtobebabson]

I don't recall any criteria to "being" a Hippie. There was absolutely nothing in the way of "you have to do this and this". It was just common knowledge that we were non-violent, and this alone was the attraction. What you did after that point was your own business. So if you missed it, don't knock it, if you never tried it:)

There are no signs or dividing lines
And very few rules to guide

There is one thing that stands out in my mind. For the first time in history, the youth of America, questioned, challenged, and united against another bullshit puppet government war.

[usedtobebabson]

Example -
BH - Before Hippie - Meet a bunch of ruffians from another city on the street late at night. Challenge them with fists and a rumble, or even run to the trunk and get out the tire irons.

AF - After Hippie - Meet a bunch of longhairs from another city late at night on the street. Flash them a peace sign. They smile and flash the peace sign back. You all smoke some hashish and laugh and enjoy the evening.

Those are our basic choices folks. That's how we showed the government that they are fucked up, and so is their established way of life because that is what gets them to war.

[Perfectly Human]

There were and are freethinkers just as there were and are sheeple. When the freaks first hit the streets we were generally free thinkers...acting on our individual judgement rather than living by the BS spoon fed us by the predominant culture. Later the freaks were infiltrated by the sheeple and the plastic "hippies" were born. Can a non-hippie be a free thinker? Sure...all it takes is dedication to ones own personal authenticity.

Let your Freak Flag Fly!