Rainbow Gathering Peace Lessons

In 1516, Sir Thomas More published the book, “Utopia,” a word he coined for an ideal, imaginary island nation. His book describes a perfect socio-political-legal society that’s free of poverty and suffering. Even though utopia comes from Greek words meaning “no place” and indicates that More considered it an impossible goal, groups throughout history have tried to create idyllic, peaceful communities. On this edition of Peace Talks Radio, we explore an on-going utopian experiment, the Rainbow Gathering-a loosely-knit group of anarchists holding temporary gatherings in remote rural areas since 1972. Host Suzanne Kryder interviews Dr. Michael Niman, author of People of the Rainbow: A Nomadic Utopia, about the group’s efforts to practice nonviolent, nonhierarchical cooperative living with each other and the earth. The program includes interviews and first-hand reports from Suzanne’s participation in the 38th annual Rainbow Gathering in New Mexico, July 2009. The Peace Talks Radio series is produced by the non-profit media organization, Good Radio Shows, Inc. Visit online at www.peacetalksradio.com.