Opinions that I have changed over the last year:
- Deschooling never ends. We will never reach a point where all schoolish thought has left our minds. Society and culture has too much influence on us.
- I cannot push myself through physical limitations. Maybe I once could but my body is old enough to respond with continued injury. I need rest in order to maintain my well-being.
- There is a place for violence. I used to be a very strong pacifist. But I understand that state oppression is a form of violence against people, and violent response to that oppression is both necessary and required for change to occur and for protection. A pacifist perspective is one of the privileged.
- There is no single path to living a good life. One person’s journey will never look the same as another’s. A million factors play in to one’s life and options and judging others based on those influences is completely futile. We can’t possibly understand another person’s position. This doesn’t relieve people of accountability; unwillingness to change and learn still creates bigots. But even bigots can still change.
- Community and friendship are not the same thing. Members of my community don’t need to be my friends. Friends aren’t necessarily part of my community. This also specifically applies to the home education world: I don’t have to be friends with parents in order for our kids to be friends.
- People in general don’t have the capacity to live in community in late stage capitalist society. Money has replaced relationships and priority is places on business rather than connection.