Peace and love was the religion of my family growing up—and the fact that they would abhor me describing our shared principles as a religion is testament to just how hardcore-hippie they were. My mother, a flower-child free spirit contained by a rigid household growing up, and my father, a long-haired hard rock rebel without a cause, both grew up in the psychedelic sixties and the swinging seventies. Aside from giving me a deep appreciation for classic rock, their influence has shaped my respect for the environment, my understanding of the equality and inherent value of every human being, and a passion to express myself without restraint. But they never taught me the right perspectives to take on these issues or told me I was doing something wrong if I disagreed with them.
Rather they showed me the purpose and meaning of free love. The fact that my parents were open and non-judgmental allowed me to express myself freely, often making a fool out of myself while learning through the experience, rather than through the fear of punishment. Now, in reflection, I can see the profound opportunity this mindset allows. When we see those acting foolishly or destructively, if we engage them on their level, not on one of moral authority, we can open them up to the hope of a better world, and make them excited to develop themselves, rather than fight others to create that better world.
What drove the civil rights movement of the sixties and seventies was this idealistic faith in the potential goodness of people and their willingness to change when they saw it was for the better. They did this not just for a particular group, but for themselves, the people they care about, and the whole world by extension. Peace and love sell themselves, you just need to give people a sample.
This is where I find some concern with the modern civil rights warriors: it seems we have taken a turn from world peace and free love to targeted animosity and group guilt. While a history of oppression bears with it all the infinite potential of evil in the human soul, and that is by no means to be taken lightly, we must remember that more flies are caught with honey than with vinegar. When we are confident in the truth and the beauty of what we stand for—equality, openness and fair institutions—then we must act as ambassadors to show off the joy and fantastic positive potential that our movement has. We must not act as invaders, storming the beaches of those who stand in our way and leveling them to the ground. That is not our way, and will only create more obstacles on the path to peace.
The world that is offered by the movements of peace and civil rights is a better world for anyone, because no one is happy caught in a dichotomy of oppressor and oppressed. Thus, it is in everyone’s best interest to work toward that happy ending, by fighting the war within that urges us to tear down and destroy when faced with the truly evil nature of humankind. We win that war when we see within ourselves an infinite good which can overtake that evil, and realize that our lives and those of everyone around us are infinitely better when we let that creative feeling take the steering wheel. This feeling urges us to build anew rather than knock down, to inspire rather than to insist. This is our potential. Nobody is perfect. We all do things which contribute to darkness and despair in this world. But we all have the potential to do so much better, and when we do, we will grow, and the world will slowly become a more loving, peaceful place for everyone.
