Truth is, I'm a hippie

Even though I was born in the Gen X era ( meaning I don’t remember JFK’s assassination), I’m still a hippie.

If you want some proof points, let’s go:

• I take cold showers

• I make my own deodorant with coconut oil, baking soda, corn starch, and essential oils

• I don’t use soap or shampoo except on my hands

• I wear natural shoes and sandals with zero heel drop, a wide toe box, and thin, flexible soles (Xero shoes and vivobarefoot)

• I like 60s music, especially the anti-establishment stuff: CCR, Buffalo Springfield, Jefferson Airplane

• I distrust anything “official” and always have

• I doubt experts

In the heyday of the Tea Party, I had the privilege of driving a former hippie to a few Tea Party events in the St. Louis area. He was about 12 years older than me and full professor at one of the big universities in the St. Louis area. He explained me to me better than I could explain myself.

“The Tea Party is just the hippie movement. We were all about getting the government off our backs. That’s what you’re about, too.”

I won’t disclose his name to protect his job, but that dude was spot on. The Tea Party movement was about distrust of the man. The government has grown beyond its mandate. The government was established to serve us, not the other way around. But, more and more, we’re serving the man.

The hippies had some bad ideas, I realize. But the hippies got one big idea right: experts and authorities tend to become corrupt, while the guy who makes things with his hands tends to remain pure.

I like being a hippie. My feet are starting to look like feet, not torpedos. My skin stays healthier without battling hot water and alkaline. (Skin is very acidic, and alkaline soap damages it.) My body is healthier without the carcinogens found in 99% of deodorants. My conscience is clearer for disavowing corporations and establishment politicians.

I like being a hippie. With a little Christianizing, the hippies were alright.

Peace, brother.