Tomorrow, as all of you are walking to class (or my personal favorite, while you’re sitting on a bench people-watching) take note of people wearing peace signs. Everyone is all about peace right now – apparently it’s “in.” During this past holiday, I encountered so many peace signs that I thought I was in the 1960s. Peace is a trend. Just like when kids wore Skechers and Jellies, and, for those of us unfortunate enough to experience them, fanny packs.

These trends came and went incredibly fast, just as fast as society got us to respond to them. The truth is we’re all guilty of following trends. Sadly, I was the kid in junior high school who was finally cool enough to wear certain clothes only by the time they became uncool. We’ve all found ourselves being mindless robots at least once, listening to society drone on about what’s “cool” and what’s not.

The strangest trends become unhealthy obsessions because society says they’re “in.” Well, hippies are currently in. Pop culture is currently encapsulating “hippism” in fashion, but because of that the meaning of peace is slowly deteriorating. Sure, the general stereotype of a hippie in the ’60s had long hair, laid in the grass smoking ridiculous amounts of pot and acted wildly promiscuous.

That’s how our culture looks back on them, but that isn’t why they were hippies. The lifestyle stemmed from a cultural ideal that was prevalent during a time when young people were pushed by society to think and act a certain way. It was a response to conformity; a rebellion to prove the importance of individuality. The very symbol of nonconformity is now marked, ironically, by conformity itself. The question everyone needs to ask is, “Why is peace a fad now?” We should always be promoting peace.

I’m not, by any means, saying that anyone who wears a peace sign is being hypocritical. The real issue is that as a nation, have lost sight of the meaning behind the idea of “peace.” This idea closely resembles an encounter I had a few weeks ago while I was driving. I was stopped at a red light next to a flashy red Hummer that had a sticker on the bumper that said something along the lines of “Stop polluting.”

Besides being incredibly ironic, this really shows how powerful a trend can be. With everything going on in the world today, people forget what it means to live in peace. The idea is extremely passionate and meaningful in its hope for a mutual understanding of unresolved relationships and issues between many cultures, tribes and nations in the world. It’s a worldly goal that every person is united by or seeks to be united by. Peace isn’t what’s being screamed by antiwar protestors. It isn’t the fad that is taking over our school. Peace isn’t something that will ever really be obtained for good.

It’s not like that – it’s not tangible. It would be great if it was, because the world would be much more beautiful. Peace is instead an idea. An idea that only means love. Love for other cultures, other races and people different than us. Peace is knowledge, happiness and freedom. Those aren’t na’ve ideas. It’s sad when people think those things are na’ve and can’t be achieved. If we all lived our lives trying to achieve knowledge, happiness and freedom, what else would we need?

So many people in war-torn and impoverished nations never live in peace. Their physical struggle to survive on a daily basis is matched by an inner struggle of their own spirituality. After all is said and done, we’re extremely lucky to live in a place where the chance for success is at our fingertips.

The very nature of democracy keeps the United States at a peace that does not reach certain places on the globe. Now that I think about it, maybe the whole peace sign trend is a good thing. Maybe it will make people realize something – make them think about how important peace is. Unlike Tamagotchis, I hope peace doesn’t suddenly become uncool. Hippies must work to keep peace as more than a trend.

-Sabrina Norris-Turin is a pre-journalism and Spanish sophomore.

-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec. Send e-mail to letters@thedailyaztec.com. Anonymous letters will not be printed – include your full name, major and year in school.