Barriers to Well-Being

This week on The Hardcore Humanism Podcast we spoke with musician, singer and songwriter Tim McIlrath of the punk rock band Rise Against. Rise Against is known for being outspoken on a range of social justice issues such as animal rights and environmentalism. (The band has a new album out June 4 called Nowhere Generation.)

Source: Wyatt Troll, used with permission

One theme of the Nowhere Generation album is the disparities that exist in our society. We live in a world in which the social, legal, economic, and political systems do not necessarily work the same for everyone. People experience intense disparities based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and economic resources. So not everyone gets the same access to education, health care, jobs, healthy food, and clean air, among other things. This is not just a vague political or moral issue. These disparities translate into people not having equal opportunity to lead a long, fulfilling, and authentic life. For example, several studies have shown that people with higher incomes have increased longevity. Further, people who are in poverty are more likely to report increased mental illness.

A core principle of humanism and humanistic psychology is that all people have value, and that it is our job as individuals and a society to help people realize their potential. So these disparities run counter to what we hope for in a humanistic society. And the question is, when we face these types of disparities – and we see that there are systems in place that interfere with our ability and the ability of others to achieve purpose in life — what do we do?

And one of the things that I really liked about how McIlrath framed this issue is that he essentially talked about addressing it on two fronts. The first is the concept of agency – empowering people to find their purpose in life and work to achieve it no matter the obstacles they face. This is a core tenet of punk rock – the idea that our ideas, hopes, and dreams matter even if we are marginalized in some way. And the second front McIlrath talks about is taking on the system – identifying and challenging the structures that exist that interfere with people having equal opportunity to live the lives they want. And what’s particularly important is that we can do both. We can work to find the agency to build the life we want and to change the system and structures that hold people back. These concepts McIlrath discusses are very much in line with core humanistic principles: that everyone has value. And it is our goal as individuals to work toward our purpose in life and help others do the same.