Problems never solved in silence

"Well, that's just the way it is … what's your solution?"

This is a common challenge that I have both seen in print and heard first hand in response to anything that challenges the dominant social paradigm. While it is certainly important to debate solutions to whatever problems we are faced as a society, the nonexistence of working, concrete alternatives should in no way dissuade efforts to seek such alternatives.

The type of logic (an illogic, really) fostering this mode of thought exists throughout society and is used to justify the existence of whatever problem has evolved into its contemporary form. Because society is conceptualized as constantly evolving into a superior form, it is assumed that certain societal aspects, positive or negative, have been maintained because they are an inevitable product of this evolution.

This rationale fails to consider the possible alternatives to, and improvement of, our social structure and its dominant institutions.

In fact, I think discussing social problems in this fashion perpetuates, rather than simply describes, their existence.

As long as we view things as unavoidable evolutionary byproducts, then we need not strive for change.

Although the problematic ramifications of this mode of thinking abound, it is important to translate their consequences into concrete terms.

Perhaps the most pressing debate where such simplistic examinations have surfaced is in relation to the United States' military response to the attacks of Sept. 11. People opposed to U.S. actions have been placed against a hypothetical wall by statements questioning, "If not war, then what?"

Certainly this question is relevant, but the problem lies in assuming that these questions have actually been carefully pondered.

Should nonexistence of a public debate equate full support?

The limitations of this socially constructed box of "This must be the best way, because it is the way," have stifled its challengers.

People recognize this, as I've heard many times, through comments from people who have stated they don't want war but are unsure what other solutions could end terrorism.

I feel this is evidence of the general lack of discussion beyond a dominant prescribed solution.

Similarly, when people challenge the ability of prisons to rehabilitate criminals or the death penalty to deter crime, the same response results.

In terms of the criminal justice system, however, a more powerful case can be made for the ineffectiveness of prisons and state-sanctioned killing as deterrents against, or treatment for, violent crime. In fact, more than half of those are incarcerated for nonviolent convictions, dispelling the common myth of prisons as preventing barbarians from roaming the streets. Granted, some people are unable to function properly in U.S. society as it exists and need to be separated from it to ensure the safety of others.

Yet, to criticize the prison industry somehow seems counterintuitive within this society. We assume that prisons are a necessary and functional component of maintaining "law and order," even when evidence points to the contrary.

This illustrates the strength with which the status quo is maintained – and dissent quelled.

What if we were to view medical problems in a similar light?

"While we agree that cancer is a problem, how are we ever to fix it, and what is your solution?"

The absurdity in this claim should be no less obvious in relation to social problems. Simply because something continues to thrive, that should never be cause for its acceptance.

Why is it that we view medical problems as necessarily treatable, continuously questioning their causal roots and formulating ever-changing solutions?

Could it be that health transcends all human categorizations and distinctions, regardless of race, class, gender or sexuality?

Could it also be, then, that certain social problems do not transcend, but rather, dwell in and continue to ravage very specific populations?

I suppose these questions are irrelevant, though, because I don't have any real solutions. After all, that's just the way it is.

– Kehnel, a graduate student in sociology, can be reached at stevekehnel@excite.com