Cohousing-L Mailing List: Ideals

[Joshua (jrcooper]

DHCano [at] aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 10/22/99 10:44:55 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> jrcooper [at] zoo.uvm.edu writes:
>
> << We all (I am stepping out on a limb here) feel a little cynical about the
>  idealism of the '60s and "where has it got us." >>
>
> It is fashionable now to denigrate those of us who struggled for our ideals
> in the '60's and this is probably not surprising given the unfortunate
> adulation that *others who were not there, or not active* spent in
> romanticizing some of the more trivial and stylistic elements of our
> struggles (safely afterwards, of course, when they could have the style
> without the struggle).

Diane, I applaud your speaking out on this!  From the public and personal
messages I've received so far, it seems that not everyone is as cynical as I am.
I have spent a great deal of time trying to retrace the source of my own doubt 
in
the ideals of the '60s, and have found no simple answer.  I would have to say
that it runs deeper than simply trying to be "fashionable".   But, perhaps I am
not even entirely clear what these ideals in question are.  I am a generation
X-er, myself, and so not truly "in the know", but it seems from what I've been
able to understand so far that the 60s ideals are something different for every
person who lived through that era.  Unfortunately, most of that which many 
people
(including myself) have been subsequently offered in historical summary as we
grew up was something along the lines of the following:  "The 60s was an
interesting experiment, but it just didn't work.  Long on idealism, but short on
practicality and emotional maturity."

I would be interested in hearing more about your perspective, for it is a
relatively fresh one in my world.  The voices of those who played a leading role
in the transformations of that time are undoubtedly among the same that have
inspired the cohousing movement for which we join together now.  Yet, the 
visions
behind these voices remain elusive to me, almost dreamlike.  And up until now,
they have remained distictly coloured by the filters of politics and consumerism
and mass-media and modern education which have defined the niche of my own
socialization experience.

In pursuing cohousing, I betray the fact that my own heart is indeed lifted by a
healthy share of utopic idealism.  The cynacism is an old battered suitcase,
baggage that I intend to leave behind at the next bus station.  I think that it
would be wonderful and inspiring if any of the elders or middle-elders or others
of this listserv community would share their own stories of struggle and vision
with those of us who were too young, were not there, or were not active.

Joshua