by Sari Krosinsky
Daily Lobo Columnist
Anarchists converge on UNM. Hmmm. May sound frightening, but it actually was a pretty pleasant weekend.
The great thing about anarchism is that it's so non-dogmatic. Probably a generally acceptable definition of anarchism is the idea of breaking down all forms of hierarchy and moving towards more completely egalitarian forms of social organization. But really, there are about as many kinds of anarchism as there are anarchists.
So, after spending a weekend hanging out with a bunch of anarchists, I am not left with a single, all encompassing, and - in practical terms - useless answer to all the world's social ills. Instead, I am left with the many answers that individuals find to put into practice in their own lives. And I am left with questions.
Growing up Jewish, I learned that sometimes the questions are more important than the answers. So I thought I'd share some of those questions with you.
I'm not offering any answers. Well, not at the moment. These are just some of the questions I heard or thought of to give you something interesting to mull over between papers.
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How can we go about teaching kids our own values, and still give them the freedom and encouragement to pursue their own unique worldview?
How can we organize education to teach kids what they need to know, without indoctrinating them or - worse still - letting the state indoctrinate them?
How old should kids be before one takes them train hopping?
Does freedom include the freedom to be bigoted?
Would an anarchist governor really be able to decentralize governance or is the current system too self-perpetuating to be altered from within?
Why hasn't there ever been a military coup in the United States?
Can we be selfish and still sustain communities? Can we self-actualize without sustaining communities?
What alternatives are there to the current criminal justice system? Is there a better way to prevent and deal with violent crimes?
Is it possible to meet the needs of all people - emotional and ethical as well as physical - in a society as large as a nation?
What other ways are there to organize defense, aside from the police and military? What if everyone were trained to play some role in personal and communal defense?
How does one balance larger scale social transformation with making more immediate, concrete improvements in people's lives?
Is it possible for the media to be unbiased?
If the media is limited in its ability to be balanced by virtue of the limitations on who has authority - that is, who gets to supply their side to the media - then how can journalists and editors counteract this hierarchy of information for a more balanced press?
Would it be better for media to try harder to be unbiased or to simply acknowledge its bias upfront?
Is it possible for people to recognize the flaws in the media without demonizing journalists?
Is it possible for people to recognize the flaws in the criminal justice system without demonizing all individual police?
Did any of the police at the anti-war march on Saturday find Ben Tucker's purple dress and gas mask strip tease at least a little funny?
Well, I think that's enough food for thought for now. Time for me to get back to writing and/or procrastinating on my overdue paper. Which leaves me with just one more question: Why oh why don't we have a dead week before finals? Wouldn't that be nice?
Send your revolutionary, earth-shattering questions to Sari Krosinsky at michal_kro@hotmail.com.
