How hippies shaped the way we think now

How hippies shaped the way we think now
By Emily Dugan
Published: 25 May 2007
Independent UK

Do you like rainbows? Can you hum the tune of Puff The Magic Dragon? And are you partial to a bit of barefoot walking? Then you too could be under the influence of hippies.

A survey released by Reader's Digest today shows just how much today's Britons have been affected by the hippie movement of the Sixties. From concerns over global warming to sex before marriage and owning a wind chime, 21st century Britons owe much to their long-haired, sandal-wearing predecessors.

The poll, marking the 40th anniversary of the 1967 "Summer of Love", discovered that the effect of the flower power generation has been more lasting than its critics might have expected.

While only 1 per cent of the 1,000 adults surveyed actually considered themselves "hippies and proud of it", many of the others' political and lifestyle choices reflected hippie culture.

In politics, almost half of today's Britons said they believed in questioning the establishment and agreed there were too many rules in society. The archetypal hippie desire to save the planet is also still upheld in contemporary society, with 82 per cent of respondents believing it needed to be saved.

The slogan "Make love not war", famously used by hippies across the US during the Vietnam War, has also retained its relevance. Placards carrying the slogan reappeared at Iraq war demonstrations, and this latest survey reveals almost half of Britons now agree with the once controversial sentiment.

"There was much more to the Summer of Love than taking drugs, sleeping around and shirking responsibility," said Katherine Walker, editor-in-chief of the Reader's Digest. "Our poll shows that the hippie era produced many innovative, enduring ideals that British people of all ages have come to live by. In some ways they really did change the world."

Despite that comment, the report also revealed the legacy of hippies' experimentation with sex and drugs. More than a third of Britons have used marijuana and 8 per cent admit to having dabbled in LSD. Free love also lives on, as 1 in 10 of those surveyed said they would have multiple partners and two thirds agreed with sex before marriage.

The move towards more natural, unprocessed foods was also mentioned in the report as a hippie ideal that we have inherited. The increased popularity of organic and ethically grown food, as well as a resurgence in home-growing, shows a return to the Sixties ethos of living simply from the land. Seventy per cent of Britons favoured natural, unprocessed goods, and more than half have tried natural therapies.

Not all the findings had such wide sociological implications, however. Modern Britons are also showing more frivolous signs of hippie influence, with almost half owning lots of candles and wind chimes. The tunes of the Sixties also live on, with 84 per cent of those questioned able to hum the tune to "Yellow Submarine", and another 79 per cent knowing the melody of Puff The Magic Dragon.

The Sixties also scored highly as a desirable decade to live in, with over a third voting for it as the era in which they would have most liked to be a teenager.