Hippies And The War
Northampton has been making news with Greenfield. Northampton claims its hippie
infestation comes from the Franklin County shiretown.
Surely we have 'em. Surely there are young bearded visually undesirables in
Greenfield. They can be seen on almost any sunny day camping about the town
square, on prime corners bumming rides, or lounging about one of their favorite
haunts, the front lawn of St. James Church.
But these are the guys and dolls who have been invading Northampton to harass
and provoke the draft board chairman into placing all the blame for his troubles
on Greenfield? Only close inspection would provide an answer. And he'd probably prove himself correct.
James Faulkner, the Hampshire County draft board clerk who resents this "bunch
of hippies" besieging his office in protests of the draft, has come up
with a rather pat reply. Says he These hippies kill more people with their hot
rod cars than the Viet Cong do with ammunition. The only fault with this deduction
is that hippies do not seem to be concerned much about what the Viet Cong do,
but direct their messages to what other Americans are doing, particularly those
concerned with preserving independence for themselves and the Vietnamese.
From observations of the past few weeks it is apparent that boys and girls
who pretend to detest the war and the draft are more concerned with personal
motives than with the safety, welfare and future of the country. They are undeniably
selfish to the extreme and seek to emphasize their missions through notoriety,
publicity and dope. At no other time in history could they have escaped correction
with such obvious ease. They do it now only because this country emphasizes
for all the world to see its insistence upon freedom, even when it causes the
nation itself great pain and anguish.
Northampton need not place all the blame on Greenfield for anti-draft and anti-war
demonstrations. The move is national in scope, obviously directed by well-organized
groups, many of which are swelled by young people tricked, duped and cajoled
by leaders with ties in Peking, Moscow, Hanoi and Havana. Some have even admitted
this.
Nobody likes war. Nobody likes the draft. In this the hippies have universal
respect and support. Faulkner, however, could have strengthened his charge against
them by pointing out that it is not only their hot-rods which kill. With each
move to interfere with American policy and its leaders, elected and chosen by
the people, they are aiding and encouraging the enemy. This in turns adds to
the toll of death and injured and delays a negotiated peace. |