That word may have been of importance in the past, but now it can't be used for much more than ridicule for how things played out in those times. From what I've seen at the public school I went to, if anyone really pushed for anything like saving power, respecting the rights of animals, or anything anti-war, they were basically dubbed hippies or some other similar term for this, despite those being positive goals. Today, the word "hippie" bears no real meaning, and is merely a slightly bendable word that's mostly used as ridicule towards someone you don't feel like listening to, unless you're speaking historically, in which case you'd probably want to avoid such slang anyway.

But at this point, I'm being the biggest spoil-sport ever. :o