Sadly, the sometimes naïve but heartfelt efforts of the 1960s (we did, remember, attempt to levitate the Pentagon in 1967) were overcome by a determined Cointelpro program, the elimination of the Black Panthers, and the violent overreaction to the protests at Kent State and Jackson State. He empowered a generation to change points and plugs, jack up their bugs to change the oil, and if necessary drop an engine. An engineer, he had dropped out, let his hair grow long, and transformed himself into a car mechanic in Taos, New Mexico. John Muir, I imagine, used “idiots” with affection.
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Those, at least, not too stoned on marijuana, and/or residing in another, more vivid acid/magic mushroom-induced reality to make it on time to community meeting at the commune or to the demonstration.
ON TYRANNY TIMOTHY SNYDER MANUAL
His “How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot” was embraced by a generation of compleat idiots who relied on their dog-eared copies and Craftsman wrenches to keep their VW bugs alive as they attempted to remake America. In 1969, John Muir wrote a book that democratized car repair for those lucky enough to own a VW.
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On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century