The thread of culture that runs through the entire history of punk is also a dedication to challenging the authoritarian.
Greg GraffinOne of our great thematic traditions in Bad Religion has been to question human nature.
Greg GraffinSociety has to be structured such that there are checks and balances, so that it can't be manipulated, for instance, for the profit of just some multinational company who's going to get rich on trying to legislate the environment.
Greg GraffinThere are certain ways you have to delude yourself. Self-delusion is important, for instance in family life. You know what I mean? If you're in love with your wife you have to go in there with blind faith. You have to support everything. And with your kids, you have to believe that you're doing something that has higher purpose; even though you don't have any evidence that that's the way it's going to turn out.
Greg GraffinItโs a similar feeling from being in a community of punk rockers as a teenager and the feeling I still get today when Iโm in a community of skeptical scientists. The idea with both is that you challenge authority, you challenge the dogma. You challenge the doctrine in order to make progress. The thrill of science is the process. Itโs a social process. Itโs a process of collective discovery. Itโs debate, itโs experimentation and itโs verification of claims that might be false. Itโs the greatest foundation for a society.
Greg Graffin