Bear in mind that Dave was a full-on participant in the counter culture, part of the Haight Ashbury scene during the so-called Summer of Love. He had a pretty good understanding, I think, of what motivated the people he associated with.

We understand the desire to rebel against a hypocritical Christian leadership, which is, if anything, more evident today than it was 40 years ago. However, that excuse won’t wash when we face the ultimate judgment, sadly. The only comfort is knowing that the false teachers who led people astray in Jesus’ name will be held accountable for those they deceived.

“Hippies” were in large I believe lost youth, who rebelled against the norm which they felt held an ugly hypocrisy. And seeing that the leadership of the norm in their society claimed to be Christian there was a natural rebellion against it. I don’t want to generalize but I am not writing a thesis. The solution I believe most people came to understand was critical and core to the so-called hippy understanding was going back to a more natural way of living. This by no means is a wish to sleep but a realization that true living is tough and worth sacrificing the comforts of our new order of living. I don’t fall in for worshipping gods or name calling but at least an attempt at honesty and leaving behind of the bias news-talk style punditry that distorts discussion.

The shape and material of the new helmets have a practical purpose, but I, too, am troubled by the images and the era in history they conjure. One image, in particular, that I find troubling is one in which a federale of some vintage is pointing a sub-machine gun at Elian Gonzales’ uncle, while he (the uncle) is holding the then 5-year-old kid. You can’t help but draw a parallel to the SS. That’s probably the intent. The recent concentration of power in the hands of so few, and the willingness to exercise that power to suppress those who disagree with the current conventional wisdom, is frightening. In another similar instance, a SWAT hit on a family near where I live in Colorado, where the local Sheriff forcibly removed a kid from his home to take him to a hospital because he bumped his head, exemplifies our loss of freedom from personal invasion at the hands of those who reign in power.