I was surprised to pick-up the latest issue of Common Ground. Common Ground was started by a close friend of mine in 1975 as a brilliant way to list the hundreds of New Age and Spiritual organizations and businesses in the Bay Area. It was sold, by my friend, several years ago.
I have watched many of the splits in the Hippy movement. One split was the separation of New Age from Pot Smokers. The best display of visible differences was in Arizona where the Pot Smokers lived in Jerome on the hillside with sex, rock music, bars, restaurants and hippy clothing. On the valley floor was Sedona the New Age village with light therapy, wind chimes, crystals and vitamin shops.
Common Ground is in the Sedona tradition.
What surprised me was the current articles and an ad for a Greenfestival. New Age has married Lefty extremism. Bubba Free John is having sex with Cindy Sheehan.
I'm not kidding. There are articles on 'Eat your way to Social Activism' and 'Plastics in computers, cell phones and Ipods are causing breast cancer.'
The Greenfestival advertises two New Agers, David Suzuki and David Korten with three Lefty extremists: Cindy Sheehan, Amy Goodman of KPFA and Joan Blades of moveon.org.
I'm just letting you know. The New Agers were denigrated in the 1970s as 'airheads' and 'airy fairy.' What is the new marriage to be called: beannie meannies?'