Am I a Hippie?

Rachel's latest entry about this possibly soon-to-be blog-meme made me wonder if I could even come up with enough pertinent facts about myself to do something similar. (I may find myself having to borrow some of your items, Rachel, since they're true for me, too.) So here it goes!

Is Michael a Hippie?

Pros:

1. I have an unconventional name (for a woman).
2. My hair is long and straight, and I hardly ever "style" it with a blow drier-- even less frequently with any other hair torturing device (a.k.a. curling iron, etc.).
3. I haven't used herbicide in our yard for well over a year.
4. I've never shot a gun at an animal.
5. I try not to waste food, electricity, and water.
6. I don't wear make-up on a daily basis.
7. My daily garb is very casual and laid back.
8. I owned a couple pair of bell-bottom jeans, back when they were briefly fashionable again (or maybe a year or two too late for the trend). I still find boot-cut and flare-cut jeans more comfortable than the high-waisted, tight-fitting jeans of my youth.
   
9. I go barefooted most of the time.
10. My husband has facial hair.
11. My husband plays the guitar and the recorder.
12. I love the beauty of nature.
13. I like some music that might be described as "psychedelic" or produced by "hippie bands".
14. I don't particularly trust the government. (I think many of those in charge have nothing more than their own power and glorification in mind, and even when it comes to the "true believers" among them, I don't have faith that they're acting in the country's best interest-- quite simply because I think they're just wrong.)
    

Cons:

1. My so-called unconventional name is extremely conventional for men. (I'm no Sunflower or Moonbeam-Dancer.)
2. I wash my hair every day and occasionally color it to cover my (premature and totally unfair (g)) grays. I have also taken to using Suave's leave-in anti-frizz creme product on a semi-regular basis.
3. The reason I haven't used herbicide in so long is a mixture of procrastination and laziness.
   
4. Once we get a "snake gun", I fully intend to rid our yard of any venomous snake I find.
5. I try not to waste things primarily because I like to save money, not because I think Mother Earth cries when I forget to turn off the lights.
   
6. I do wear make-up when I'm going into public. (Not because I think it's "wrong" not to, but because I'm more comfortable that way. If I had perfect skin, I'd probably never wear the stuff. Alas, my skin is not perfect. The make-up doesn't really completely fix that, but at least it helps.)
   
7. Though they are casual, I usually wear exceptionally normal (ha ha) clothes-- capris (or jeans, in cooler weather) and a (not tie-dyed) fitted tee.
   
8. I go barefooted (indoors) only because it's comfortable and because I can (since I'm home most of the time). When I go anywhere else-- or even just outside-- you can count on it that I'll be wearing footwear.
9. My husband keeps his facial hair neatly trimmed and is wonderfully non-hippie-ish in dress. (Think button-down shirts tucked into trousers.)
   
10. My guitar- and recorder-playing husband is also teaching himself to play the banjo.
    
11. I don't think man-caused global warming is proven fact. (Or, er, they're calling it "climate change" now, aren't they, since some studies indicate that we're entering a cooling phase?)
    
12. I eat meat every day, often twice.
13. There is a leather couch in my living room, and I have owned leather shoes and belts. I bought my husband a leather jacket last winter. Also, I own a coat with fur trim around the hood.
    
14. I remove body hair in accordance with Western tradition.
15. I wear deodorant. (What, do modern hippies wear it, too? Sorry if I've offended.)
    
16. I am politically, fiscally, and socially conservative and attended (the tail end of) a local Tax Day Tea Party, last April.
    
17. I have never used recreational drugs. (I stick with candy, chocolate, and ice cream. And Dr. Pepper.)
18. I believe it is important for our nation to keep a strong military.
19. I don't grow my own food (though I'd like to try growing a small vegetable patch, someday).
    
20. I love (the idea of) the past-- Victorian and Edwardian England, pioneering times in America, the Regency period, America in the first half of the 20th century, and so on. Period literature and mini-series are my favorite escape from reality.
    
21. I am a Christian. (That's not to say that some who identify themselves as hippies are not also Christian, but there seems to be a strong emphasis in hippie culture in general on embracing Eastern religions.)
    
22. I am essentially a traditionalist.
    

What a surprise! I seem not to be a hippie!

Incidentally, I wonder if there's something in the air right now, because just yesterday I read a blog post by someone in Australia (in a totally different circle) about how she embraces many of the principles and ideals typically be found in an environmentalist-- yet she doesn't like the idea of being identified as such. She'd rather people think of her simply as a frugal woman trying to do right by her family and God. I get the sense that quite a few people are feeling this way, lately.