[John]
Some in a shallow reactionary way that didn't really go
anywhere, but others in a positive and thoughtful direction that is
still working out today.
[Arlo]
I don't think you are really in disagreement with Pirsig, except that
perhaps in the general trend of the movement as generalized. I don't
think Pirsig would disagree that many of the contrarian-hippies did
move forward. Indeed, I count Pirsig himself among the
contrarian-hippies that went "in a positive and thoughtful
direction". I think Pirsig's comments reflect the failure of the
movement to catalyze a large culture shift. The hippies that went in
the good direction are now exceptions to the overall cultural rule.
"History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even
without being sure of "history" it seems entirely reasonable to think
that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a
head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands
at the time - and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually
happened.... And that, I think, was the handle- that sense of
inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean
or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply
prevail. There was no point in fighting - on our side or theirs. We
had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and
beautiful wave... So now, less than five years later, you can go up
on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind
of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark- that place where the
wave finally broke and rolled back." (Hunter Thompson)
I think this passage by Thompson points to the same turning point as
Pirsig does in LILA.
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