Rewind and Restart
“Teach a man to fish”. This comes from Bible Mathew 4:19. Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu resaid it as “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” Makes a great point, helps us understand the value of education, skill building and long term solutions.
On one of our recent episode recordings for What’s Wrong With: The Podcast, we found ourselves questioning this quote with the upstreamist Rishi Manchanda, CEO of HealthBegins. What about teaching a woman? What if the ponds are very far for some while close to others? What if the person does not have resources to acquire tools to continue fishing? And what if fishing in water pollution gets to a point where the person no longer can fish?
These simple analogies help us recognize that best practices are not necessarily long-term, sustainable solutions for all. And that progress isn’t necessarily “problem-solved”. Our responsibility as designers, thinkers, creatives, strategists is to go back to the drawing board on everything we know that is true, good or popular. We need to take on the attitude which Alfie Kohn talks about regarding raising the next generation: Respectful Rebellion. Questioning authorities, facts, common “best” practices, methodologies and standards. Our benchmarks, references, moodboards, inspirations need to seek out inclusion, sustainability, flexibility and adaptability. Regardless of what the client brief is, we need to review and expand the brief whenever necessary, to seek out opportunities to create a better solution, even if that means more work for us. Because the more we practice the less work it will be. Crises trigger “new norms” in warp speed, but waiting for a disaster to see change cannot be a strategy in achieving a better global landscape. Persistence will work. If systems, products, and built environments are designed with higher standards, that will move the needle, slowly but surely. And a continuous reevaluation of our standards is fundamental: lesser bad is still progress, but it is not the solution. Recognizing achievements and continuing to push boundaries practice on an ongoing basis.
So let’s question quotes and idioms that influenced generations. Let’s evaluate our values and priorities in raising the next generations. Let’s assess systems in education, employment and healthcare. Let’s redesign products to seek measures of sustainability, inclusion and access. Let’s rethink our built environments with values around betterment of societies and the planet. And let’s recognize that it may feel like acquiring a sophisticated taste, so let’s just embrace the discomfort in doing it all.
