zlacker

>>ArtWom+(OP)
If you haven’t heard it yet, turn the lights down low, pour out a libation, don a pair of headphones, and listen to the 1966 recording "Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out: Timothy Leary Ph.D. speaks on L.S.D." It’s widely available online. It’s not what you might expect. It’s a great time capsule of Leary’s thoughts and ideas from a unique moment in time, and it really does feel like he’s speaking to people in the far future.

>>sammal+8e9
Respectfully, it's about what I expected.

A mostly earnest man addressing the real problems of the military/industrial dystopia, the world's break from reality, with a bit of wisdom and a lot of snake oil. Cannabinoid snake oil ("It's an aphrodesiac, but not like in Reefer Madness, it's more cosmic than that."), lysergic acid diethylamide snake oil. Back to the Garden of Eden lures, generational politics (one's age determines one's potential for spiritual advancement?), dulcet, lyrical, hypnotic sales pitches. It was "don't trust anyone over 30" until they turned thirty, then their mind expanding experiments led to "don't trust anyone under thirty and grab a big pile of money, depriving the subsequent generations of their livelihood". What did they learn during their acid trips?

By Leary's measure, at the time of this recording, Jack Kerouac (a pioneer himself in examining the modern world) would have been 44, past Leary's 40 year old age limit. In Leary's Cyberpunk I learned yesterday that he appealed to "silicon snake oil", the world's current obsession. Dropping out isn't a ticket to Eden, I know through personal experience. No Harvard endowment paid my or Kerouac's bills, nor did free software. "Tune in, turn on, and drop out" if you have to, but "pay attention to what you are doing and who you listen to, and what you are dropping in to" would be a corollary.

>>stew-j+lra
In the recording, Leary talks about his experience working in an experimental psychedelic retreat in Mexico. I don’t think this is snake oil. LSD and other psychedelics have been shown to have tremendous therapeutic potential. This is what I meant about Leary talking to us in the future.

>>sammal+MKb
I agree that hallucinogens have therapeutic promise. Leary (and John Lilly, and others) was forward thinking in this respect. But they can be dangerous if misused, with the potential to cause chronic psychotic disorders, for example. I am hesitant to mention Charles Manson, but what if the wrong influence is there when your mind is so wide open?

Leary didn't say, "Due to regressive laws in the U.S., which I respect but we need to change, I cannot pursue my double-blind clinical trials of LSD-25 for treatment of depression in America. I have therefore moved my research to Mexico." Leary was infamous for popularizing LSD, and was part of the problem for authority's long road to accept it. I know sometimes civil disobedience is in order, but we are not talking about sarsaparilla root here.

He said (paraphrased), "People over 40 want to put me behind bars for helping people discover the cosmic candles of the night sky on the Mexican beaches...the fair-haired elven princess in the tree house...the verdant fields... Why are the mean rational adults picking on me?" which are outside of the generally accepted principles for the treatment of mental illness, I would think. It's way beyond therapeutic use and into snake oil territory when advertised as an aphrodisiac and spiritual guide. Yoga and Buddhist meditation also have therapeutic benefits and very safe--why not use those until (and after) the clinical trials of LSD are completed?

>>stew-j+GRb
Look, you’re not wrong about anything. In 2022, I agree with every point you’ve made. But I’m not convinced these same points hold in 1966. Hindsight is 20/20, but there’s also the values and zeitgeist of the time that might not align with what we think now. Two million men were drafted to fight a meaningless war for a corrupt political class, contrary to reports from military analysts who told them the war was unwinable and should be stopped. The most loved president in US history had been assassinated. The most educated youth ever had just entered or was leaving college. Free speech movements and civil rights protests were omnipresent. LSD was a catalyst for changing minds that had been hardened by a 1950s, post-war ennui. The mind was restless and wanted change. This endeavor entailed risk and reward. Leary was a man out of his time. People are still arguing about the results of the Concord Prison Experiment. Leary’s biggest mistake is that he stayed in the US. He should have left the country /before/ he ran into legal problems, and he should have did all his research elsewhere. I’m convinced this was his biggest mistake.

>>sammal+jUb
> Look, you’re not wrong about anything

Nor you! I was just returning to thank you for posting your original idea to listen to this--I was only clarifying my thoughts before--Leary was human like any of us and I think a progressive, truth-seeking one. It is good to make up our own minds about history with direct sources like this. So, thanks for that and these new comments, which do make sense too.