"The only thing I wish I had kept were all the peace beads, because in the 1960s people made these and hung them at protests and it was a wonderful thing"

David Selby’s reflection on "peace beads" alludes to a deeply personal sense of nostalgia layered with the broader spirit of the 1960s counterculture movement. Peace beads were not just decorative items but physical manifestations of collective values and hope. Individuals would craft these beads by hand to wear or display during protests, making them symbols of unity, resistance, and an earnest desire for harmony in an era tense with political turmoil and social change.

By regretting not having kept them, Selby is not merely longing for objects, but for the spirit encapsulated within them. The beads serve as relics of a particular consciousness, a reminder of a time when community activism and idealism could be expressed through simple, tangible means. These small, colorful tokens became badges of a peaceful movement advocating for an end to war, especially as antiwar protests surged in response to the Vietnam conflict. The practice of making and sharing beads fostered camaraderie among activists, reinforcing their shared vision and solidarity.

Selby’s words also hint at the ephemeral nature of social movements and their artifacts. As time passes, physical reminders of collective action may be lost, yet their impact lingers on in memory. The “wonderful thing” he refers to is not just the beads themselves, but the larger phenomenon of people coming together, expressing dissent not through violence, but through creation and collaboration. In holding onto such symbols, there is a way to carry forward the lessons and spirit of past activism.

His statement encourages reflection on how present generations choose to commemorate their own causes. Material symbols carry emotional resonance, binding people to their histories and to each other. Selby’s wistfulness is a reminder both of what was meaningful, and of the importance of preserving such symbols as connections to shared ideals and communal action.