The World in Which We Live Has Changed!

Our world is changing every day. In the last few years we have dealt with a pandemic, inflation and now the threat of a global war. The world in which we live has changed … a lot in such a short period of time. Beyond these macro-issues, we need to ask ourselves a question: what is at the heart of this change? Can you put your finger on it? Can you nail it down to a phrase or a sentence?

If I were asked what is at the heart of the change we see I would have to say that we are no longer moral in respects to our concern for others. Our norm is now entirely about ourselves. We don’t care for other people. We don’t really care about poverty or homelessness. I mean, we do care about those things, but not more than we care about ourselves.

That seems to be the single biggest cultural shift I have seen in my lifetime. Being selfish used to be weird and taboo. Being selfish used to be embarrassing. Oh, sure, people were selfish years ago but they never flaunted it. They tried to at least present a certain humility or concern for others. Now, being selfish is celebrated; it is the norm. We are told to look out for ourselves and to get what we can get. I saw a bumper sticker the other day that summed up this mindset perfectly: the one who dies with the most toys wins.

Why is this bad? Well, first, it does not embrace difference or even care about difference. Second, we do not live in isolation but in community and there is responsibility when it comes to community. There are a whole lot of people who cannot take care of themselves and are dependent on you and me to take care of them. What happens when we want to only take care of ourselves? Well, look out your window because you are seeing the effects of this mindset in real time. Governments want more … millionaires want more … politicians want more and who suffers the consequences … everyone else. What is the answer?

Difference! Look around! Where you see beauty you see difference. Where you see excellence you see difference. Do you find beauty and excellence in sameness? Athletic teams win championships because of difference. Artists are successful because of difference. Sameness produces mediocrity and more sameness. Difference is all around you and there are many who claim to embrace difference and support difference, but all they are really doing is embracing and supporting their own power. Do you want to embrace difference … I mean truly embrace difference? If you do, then forget about equality and celebrate difference. If we celebrate difference than everyone wins because everyone is different!