It wasn't what you'd call a perfect generation, but it chang-ed the world in many and significant ways. Love became freer, the war became shorter, and for a few extraordinary years, philosophy trumped greed.

“Hell no, we won’t go.”
“Make Love, Not War.”
“Question Authority!”
"Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?"

The anti-war slogans abounded. Those who did not flee to Canada to avoid the draft took to the streets in protest.

The youth movement was non-violent, with many protests taking the shape of sit-ins, love-ins, die-ins, teach-ins, plus the occasional draft card burning ritual.

And then there was Kent State University, where four students were shot dead by National Guards-men at an antiwar protest in 1970, inciting even more young citizens to publicly display their objections.

Somehow, the college kids of the hippie generation gave a damn, and did something about it. An empirical innocence and simplistic zeal lured many – old, young, black, white, rich or poor. A true generation of change, lead by a bunch of peace-loving, pot-smoking, free spirits who voiced loud and clear their anti-establishment stance.

Hippies sang songs of peace and love, not gansta rap.

Hippies hugged trees, honored nature, recycled and promoted the use of biodegradable products. They rejected established institutions and never wore tshirts with corporate logos slapped on the front.

Hippies didn't trust anyone over thirty.

Perhaps today's college kids shouldn't either. Just look at the affairs of the nation and the world, and thus their inheritance. Critical environmental problems, trillions of dollars in national debt, costly wars in Iraq and Afghan-istan, the threat of terrorism, a fragile economy, a diminishing middle class, obesity and overindulgence.

And you betcha not one of those who had a say in screwing things up is under thirty.

This new generation has much to protest about, and their voices aren't loud enough. Perhaps all mature, slightly aging, baby boomer parents should share stories about the hippie movement of yore over a family meal this holiday season.

A generation that shunned racism and greed, and embraced the environment, world peace and free love, might inspire a new generation to live green, seek peace, take a stand, make a difference, be free, and love all.

Imagine that.