The Commercialization of The Sixties

I really wasn't going to bring attention to this piece in The New York Times since I’ve blogged about the subject ad nauseam here and here and here and here and here. And I talk about it in my book, during my presentations. I'm not sure if I'm sicker of hearing about the subject - or hearing myself bloviate about it.

And I think I've even said that already. I'm sick of saying I'm sick of it.

But I stumbled upon Zac Bissonnette's take on it all at Bloggingstocks.com. He's one smart fellow:

Is the commercialization of the sixties something to mourn?

Should the baby boomers -- or at least those who were part of this movement -- be upset? I think so. What was supposed to be a powerful force for change has been reduced to nostalgia -- in the middle of a war in Iraq that bears striking similarities to the one hippies worked so hard to end. It's as if corporate America has forgotten the substance of the message and used the pretty flowers to sell insurance ... what's really happened is that the controversial elements are now long and forgotten, and we're left with what is essentially a sanitized white bread version of a movement that was supposed to go against all that.

Unless a flake or two in every box of Total has a dollop of Owsley's best on it, I'm not buyin' into any of this nonsense.