Where the rock stars of the previous generation studiously avoided social criticism, punks jumped right in. Punk asserted itself as explicitly political from the beginning. Punks also brought an unashamed anger to their protest songs, something earlier musicians hadn't dared do. If music is an expression of feeling, punk expresses a primal rage, an anger at life, and a rejection of the values of the status quo. Punk represents a gut reaction to the hypocracy of Western post-industrial society.
Punk is a refusal to accept what one is given.
CBGB's Punk at it's best uses the principle of D.I.Y. to build non-hierarchial, oppositional institutions. Punks have joined together to create cooperatives, to provide punk bands with alternative concert venues, to create independent 'zines, and even independent printing presses and distribution networks. At it's best punk uses it's alternative culture to bring people together. It finds strength in numbers. At it's best punk adovates egalitarian politics.