Burning Man

Burning Man is an eight-day annual event that takes place in a “temporary city” located in Nevada, on the playa of the Black Rock Desert. (A playa is the dried up remnants of a lake.) It’s based on several key principals, which provide for its unique atmosphere. “Radical Inclusion” is a central tenet of the event, and holds that anyone is welcome at Burning Man and you don’t have to do anything or be anything to take part. Another favorite principle of burning man is “decommodification” of goods, which requires that no cash transactions take place during the Burning Man festival. The principals of “Radical self expression” and “communal effort” encourage participants to express themselves by way of art, music, and other projects, and to work with other to accomplish goals. The principals of “Civic Responsibility” and “Leaving No Trace” require all participants to follow state, federal, and moral laws and to leave the area cleaner than it was before they came.

At the closing ceremony, a wooden effigy of a man is burned by all the members, signifying the personal independence gained from “the man” during that week. I really appreciate the concept of Burning Man, and I have already marked it on my to-do list. However, I would argue that one does not have to travel to the playa of Black Rock Desert, Nevada to practice these principals of enlightenment. I believe that the spirit of Burning Man should not be confined to the time between August 25th and September 1st. I believe that we should burn “the man” in our hearts every day.

What I hate: Conditions of worth

What I love: People who love people