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I spent my formative years in the Counter Culture Most people say that my being brought up in Berkeley, CA has a lot to do with the way I think and the way I believe. And to a large extent that is true. I was never introduced to prejudice until I moved away. It was certainly not permitted in my parents home. Also living in a University city I was given access to some of the great minds of the age. And was able to listen to some of the greatest men and women of the 20th Century. Our public schools challenged us, forcing us to think and stretch our minds. And in the early 60s young men and women decided they needed more of a voice in what they want done in their University, hence the Free Speech Movement was born. And I was there. Actually I lived across the street from some of the organizers and being in high school, they got me involved. I went willingly. Afterward, it was the escalation of the events in Southeast Asia that brought us to prominence. But we were building a true counter culture that was far more important than any movement. We were given names and derided in the press, but we had something that was alive. We had our own anthems, and customs, and truly believed that peace was far superior, at any cost. Today, I live those same tenets, for the most part. I do not condone the actions of our government, and willingly say so. I believe we have gained nothing by fighting in a war a half a world away.(shades of 40 years ago) I will only treat others the way I expect to be treated. But I am doing so without expectation, and most certainly without prejudice. 
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1/7/2008 7:01 am |
Very nice blog. Good for you that you learned to think outside the box of what we were taught in school and by our parents. I am not a "conventional" person either. To me, if it doesn't make sense and can't be explained by science, then it isn't true. I grew up in a very traditional 'old country way of thinking' Italian home. When I was about 8 yrs.old I had already decided for myself that most of what I was being told by my parents and in my Catholic school was not true. I am also against the Iraq war, or any war for that matter. To me draft dodgers are smart people who don't want to kill and be killed just because they are told to do it. Diplomacy, sitting down and talking to other leaders and even terrorists...these avenues can prevent war. What have all these people died for in Iraq anyway? The answer is NOTHING.
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