Written by Laura Peck
We are the new generation of Flower Children. It’s our job to make the change, the right way.
The economic recession has humbled us and made us realize that we are not invincible. We are going through a secondwave audiovisual and extrasensory revolution of the arts and music and an appreciation of our surroundings and nature. This is teaching us the most important thing of all: to LISTEN. It helps us hear what others have to say, and perceive the opposite point of view; it helps us develop the ability to empathize and understand.
There is a special quality about certain types of music such as fusion, jazz, electronic, and world that is hard to explain when listened to in large groups of people. It is more than simply just music. It functions as a type of motivational speech, such as “I Have A Dream” by Martin Luther King, Jr. With these types of music comes a total communal transformation. Changes in perception and thinking are made in entire groups of people at a time instead of just individual minds through their connective experiences with each other: one-on-one reciprocally, and with the group as a whole… it’s a sociopsychological phenomenon.
No other genre or style of music brings people of so many different backgrounds, ethnicities, economic statuses, sexualities, languages, and most importantly, life experiences… so close together. Together, we are all able to share an experience. We’re able to relate to one another. Suddenly, the things that are normally so important within our materialistic American society, that are used to divide us, no longer matter. The fact that we make different amounts of money does not even cross our mind. Since we have a feeling of oneness in this moment, it seems as though we all originally came from the same background. And without even realizing it at first, we now all of a sudden speak the same language. We’re perfectly in sync with each other. Everything is universal. We have become enlightened into empathy.
I believe empathy for the opposing view it is a key initiation factor for our generation in political and cultural progression through proper negotiation and human compassion instead of conflict, war, and violence. If we, the Flower Children, use these tools the right way, to teach others that yes, we can love others who are different from us instead of holding hostility and anger… and yes, we can understand their situation from their shoes… we can then negotiate a collective decision that is the best for everyone as a whole. When we come to this point, there are endless possibilities for our world and the human race.
