3 Approaches to Cultural Shifts
Finding a better way to approach cultural change
Culture is dynamic. Fluid. Fickle. Culture changes over time. Sometimes with extreme pendular swings. Popular culture is reflective of shared beliefs, values, and social norms.
Each swing of culture has its own trends like currents within an ocean or sea. These trends are movements within the larger cultural context.
People tend to respond in one of three general ways to pendular swings in culture — to reject, embrace, or engage each swing. Only one of these approaches is effective in bringing helpful change or productive dialogue.
These pendular swings have one fixed point — human nature.
Though these swings may be wide or wild extremes, it all pivots on self — our basic nature. Not our identity but our being — our innate essence which centers around self-preservation.
Cultural swings have one fixed point — human nature
On the surface, self-preservation makes sense. It’s expected. Natural. But when the self is corrupt or fragmented it’s not so good. At its basest level, self-preservation and self-preference are bound to be in conflict with others.
These conflicts disrupt whatever might be shared culturally and result in culture…
