�

i just had a great class in moral development, but i'm beginning (well, not BEGINNING) to think....do i have a completely different thought pattern to everyone else around me?

the topic today was B.F. Skinner and his theories of behaviourism applied. we watched a film about a community that was founded on the basic tenets of skinner's book, "Walden Two". this commune, twin oaks, began in 1967, when every hippy under the sun was starting or joining a commune. however, this commune did not fall apart when many others did, because it was based on an understanding of structure and functioning based on an already presented idea. there was also the realization that this was a unique experiment.

people in my class criticized the community for its policies and dismissed the idea with "it wouldn't work..." but didn't seem to realize that the policies were agreed on by people who volunatarily came to the community, sharing the same vision! of COURSE there will be tensions and disagreements, but if the community is not what the individual wanted, he or she would simply leave. this does not mean that the entire community would fall apart.

my classmates also criticized the child-care practices. at this time in the community's development, children were looked after by "metas" who did not serve necessarily as teachers or daycare workers, but almost surrogate caregivers. parents had input in the decision-making process for their children's upbringing, but again, the "shared vision" comes into play. there would not be as much tension between a parent's vision of discipline (or no discipline) and the communal vision, because that's exactly what it is - COMMUNAL. people in my class considered the practice of children only being with parents for basic needs to be unethical. i thought, how does it differ, so much, from mainstream society's practice of dropping kids off at daycare? they criticized the lack of a sole parental bond, but i feel that it is much healthier for children to have the opportunity to bond with many adults; have a generalized perception that they can turn to various sources of advice and wisdom in their times of need and crisis.

OF COURSE nothing is perfect. OF COURSE there is no such thing as utopia. but god, to have an alternative? that, to me, is amazing.

it seemed like everyone had been programmed successfully to believe that the society in which we live as The Only Way, and obviously the Best Way, due merely to its existence.

i felt like i must be the only one who does not subscribe to my destiny as PREscribed by mainstream expectations. those expectations are the source of far too much stress in my life. the option to learn, work, live on and for one's own is utopian enough to me!

beneath this casually conventional exterior is a raging hippy just itching to get out.