Stereotypes, Caricatures, and Eccentricities

Welcome to the Ron Paul Revolution!

I don't think the 'old-fashioned "real" conservatives' will have any
problem accommodating hippies. Despite the stereotypes and
caricatures, the old ways are surprisingly tolerant of other people's
eccentricities. It's only when people try to use the government to
force us to adopt those eccentricities ourselves that we get our
backs up.

We also don't like it when the consequences of other people's poor
choices catch up to them, and the government requires us to bail them
out. We prefer to follow the old rule "You made your own bed, now
sleep in it." We reserve the right to think you're making a bad
choice, and to say so, but we wouldn't dream of forcing you to do
things "the right way". If you ignore our advice, we'll let
experience teach you its wisdom. (Or not. It's really up to you.
Meanwhile we'll be watching to see how it works out for you, in case
it's us who has something to learn. We never really know...but we
have some mighty strong hunches!)

You're right, a lot of the hippy lifestyle overlaps with conservative
ways. Have a look at the Southern Agrarians, for example. Wendell
Berry is probably the best-known current representative of that
branch of conservatism which goes back to the 1930's. Like the
hippies, it rejects the consumerist culture of the big cities.
Frugality, self-reliance, close-to-the-earth. Community based on
mutual respect for our dignity as adult human beings, instead of a
nanny state that treats us all like children. Good stuff.

Also have a look at Rod Dreher's idea of "Crunchy Cons".

One of the biggest hurdles people face in joining with "real"
conservatives is the fact that William F. Buckley and the neocons
have been smearing the Old Right for years. This was a big part of
their cozying up to the center-left in order to gain
"respectability". Working with the liberal media, they've managed to
establish some scary stereotypes in the public mind. Old Right
conservatives are said to be a bunch of paranoid conspiracy freaks
like Dale Gribble on "King of the Hill". Or else we're "kooks",
"wing nuts", "bigots", "racists", "anti-semites","fascists",
"extremists". On and on it goes, one slander after another.

It takes a lot of guts to associate with people who have been
labelled like that.

Glad to see one more person has penetrated the veil and come into the
light. Again, welcome!

-- Charlie Kester