Can We All Agree . . ? Part Two
OF A TWO PART SERIES
First, I’d like to extend a hearty thank you to my readers and subscribers for their participation in my recent two question poll. I’m still open to new “votes” and related comments if people would like to share their thoughts.
I’d like to give a special shout-out to those who left their comments. Those different perspectives challenge us to expand our way of thinking which is fundamental to our working past the - Us Against Them- approach.
My first poll question was - “Do YOU think that the world has changed at an ACCELERATED rate over the last twenty-three years ? ”
77% of respondents answered - “Yes, I believe it has,” 23% responded “No I don’t believe it has.”
Though the 77% of my readers who believe that the world has changed represents a small sample size, it still has some merit because I was aiming for your opinion and not that of our country, for instance.
Change is relative to so many variables, and any discussion regarding change would need to be specific. My personal “vote” went into the yes column but in retrospect I wish there was an option - “It depends, change regarding what?”
I caught myself off guard. What about during the sixties? What about the 1930’s and 40’s? What about “Gen Z” folk - born between 1997 and 2012? Political dysfunction, climate disasters, major technological changes, and significant cultural shifts - are all those younger people have ever known.
Would I have expected people from foreign locations to have answered in similar patterns?
Being honest, I would have to admit that when confronted with a general question about society or my country, I quickly default to what’s here and now, in my circles of interaction and how it affects me. I have to make a deliberate effort to consider what’s beyond my frame of reference.
My second poll question was - “Do you think what YOU PERSONALLY believe or value, has changed in some substantial way in response to the shift above?”
67% of respondents answered - Yes I believe I have changed.
33% of respondents answered - No, I do not believe I have changed
So, what can we glean from the above numbers? First - that a clear majority of people feel that they have changed in a substantial way in the last 23 years. I can only speculate that a majority of middle-aged adults would not have felt that their values or beliefs had changed substantially in the decade or two before the turn of the century. I’d be curious to know what others think.
Our values and beliefs, at least to my understanding, are mainly acquired through childhood and early adulthood. They typically latch on pretty tightly unless major turmoil affects a person’s life. Experiences like major trauma, family discord, political unrest, or personal health crises may shake some loose but it’s typically only with kicking and screaming.
The convergence of so many threats to our status quo from political turmoil, to unparalleled family discord, to ever increasing climate-related disasters has many of us asking huge questions.
The comments that I received from my readers shed some valuable light on various aspects of the heightened division in our world, and the turmoil within us. My initial intent was to weave them into this post - but they deserve more than a cursory gander.
So stay tuned, and stay well,
Mark
I would fall into the category of trauma and a health crisis; they most certainly rewired my world view!