The kids are allright

I think that many kids that I know are wondering what they are going to do now that they are expanding their identity beyond being a punk rocker. So many people are in their early twenties in this scene. People are still looking for their identity. They find this idea and that idea, and they discard an idea and they see something that they don’t identify with and they reject it wholeheartedly. But, these people are going to go some crazy changes in their belief systems through the years. This is what I hear from so many people who are in their late twenties. They often talk about the radical changes in their lives and beliefs that they have made. Even adopting things that they would have wholeheartedly rejected at one point before. I really want to say to people that even though they feel that they may remain static in their beliefs and activities, I think that I am pretty sure they won’t. The important thing is though, that we be aware of how our thoughts and activities affect our lives.
One friend said to me, “I would feel pretty badly if at the age of 40 all I had to show for myself was my awesome record collection.” The big question seems to be, “how do I hold on to my ideas and also do something really awesome with my life?” Some people wonder if they have to let go of punk to do this. I have to ask, well, what the hell is punk any way? It really all comes down to an aesthetic thing. Music and clothes. It is one of those multi-faceted things because people tack onto their identities this image and apply this element to whatever else that they enjoy doing. For example, right off the top of your head, think of how many different lifestyles fit under the umbrella term “punk.” There are punks who don’t get fucked up, called straightedge, there are punks who do get fucked up and they are proud of it, they are the drunk punks, there are peace punks, with the offshoot of crusty punks, the list goes on. The problem is that punk kids have a tendency to make this aesthetic thing more important than it really is, as if the fate of the world or their own future was dependent on whether they wore all black or not. Really, if you really want to live according to your ideals, that is totally possible, it is all about being flexible in your life though.You may not always look like a punk, but you know who you are and what you want to do with yourself.
People still have this energy and passion, and now they have more knowledge about how they can make it happen. I don’t call myself a punk anymore, but I do like to say that I have a peace punk sensibility. Because I did the things that punks do, I know these people who called themselves punks. I like to joke that my friends and I are “self-improvement punks” because as a group, we are dedicated to being more present and living with more integrity…but we dumpster dive! I was pretty happy the other day because I dumpstered a self help book. I suppose that you could say that we are about being really resourceful and inquisitive. These are admirable qualities, why would anyone feel like they would have to give that up?
As far as my life is concerned, I feel that I have more congruence between my ideals and my actions now than when I was mired in this “punk” identity. Back then, I was just going through some motions…wear this patch, eat this food, go to this protest, while working in a casino, slingin’ ice cream to tourists…In the early 2000s everyone was really exited because they thought that radicalism would sweep the nation after the success of the “Battle in Seattle” and we would really make a revolution happen-and soon! Then Crimethink came on the scene with the book, Days of War, nights of Love. People felt that working with the system was a big mistake, and that we all should drop out of society in order to be truly radical, anything less would be selling out to the boring, dead, and empty bourgeois society. Upon looking at the book these days, I realize that it is just a someone’s perceptions of society that at times, encourages people to live authentic lives, but still creates the old “Us vs. Them” mentality at other times. It says that working within the system is what they want you to do. Who is this they? It really is all of us.
It really is just some more theories or myths to think about. It is a contribution to the conversation, and one can take what is useful and discard what isn’t. Ironically, after going to school for years, I finally fully grasp the concepts put forth in the book, which is full of theories and ideas borrowed from the field of communication, psychology, and new age self help books. I was amazed by the fact that all of my textbooks from my classes had the original theories that were hinted at in Days of War, Nights of Love!
After 9-11 and the start of the war in Iraq, people again felt that we could really make something happen. But after a couple of years, I realized that ideas ebb and flow, and that mainly through the conquest of nations have lifestyles changed so quickly. I realized that what I can contribute to make this change happen was to be a part of an expanding flood of people who are raising consciousness. I do this through living my life, sharing my ideas, by making videos, and also by learning how we humans communicate with each other and ourselves, and by becoming media literate, with the intention of helping others to help themselves decipher the messages that they encounter everyday. Although at times I have felt that it would be better to just do away with the whole corrupt system, I realize that engaging with it would be a more useful option. Some people form co-ops and collectives, other people like to write books, start bands, or practice civil disobedience. All of these things have value.
What I have been encountering and what I hope to continue to encounter, is that a lot of those radical kids, right now, are really going through the process of growing up, of taking all of their ideas that they have had and beginning to live it, to make it happen in their own ways. Many people I know have started to follow their passions, and are generally a group of people who are thoughtful, ever curious about the world, knowledgeable, full of love and acceptance, accessible, and a general joy to be friends with. We are the movers and shakers.