Why the World Sucks…
Maybe you’re like me, you wish the world could be different. Kinder. Less Frustrating. More functional. Less hateful.
One thing that is becoming obvious to me as I move towards the latter half of middle age, is that a lot of the conflict in the world is not principled, or even well thought-out, or maybe even thought-out at all.
I think a lot of conflict is simple Resistance to Change, pure and simple.
Not even resistance to doing work or facing the unknown or taking a loss, but simple resistance to change of any sort.
Why do we still use the imperial system instead of metric? The metric system is clearly better. Trying to figure out how to divide one foot, seven inches into five parts is a nightmare, and then how would you measure it with a ruler? In metric? Easy-peasy! But adopting this far superior system would require change. (Look for the hate in the comments now that I mentioned Metric…)
OK, fine, switching to metric requires work. Some folks don’t want to do it.
Why did it take so long for the Washington Redskins to change their name to Washington Commanders, even though their original name was a racial slur? Resistance to change. Enough people got very vocal about this and made up some really stupid justifications (no, using that name is not a way to “honor” Native Americans, really, it isn’t) threatened boycotts, and at a certain point it just becomes easier to give in to them.
Look. In US English we can spell the color that is a mix of black and white as “gray” or “grey.” I am 100% convinced that if the US Department of Education, or the National Education Association, proposed that we standardize on “gray,” there are people in this country who would absolutely lose their minds and fight it, viciously. People would stop being friends over this.
Why?
What does it matter?
I honestly don’t know, it doesn’t mean anything to me. There are things in this world I’m willing to fight for, or fight against, but this isn’t one of them.
So, why does this matter?
To some extent, I think people just need time to get used to change, even one that is good or at least harmless.
To those of us who are trying to persuade others to change, it helps to remember that no matter how good the new thing is, or how trivial or bad the old thing is, some people will simply resist change, so if we really want other people to change, we need to 1> not shame them or berate them or argue with them; and 2> lead with actions, not words.
Simply put, just start doing the new thing or using the new word, and avoiding the old thing or word.
Don’t resist the resistance, just make the change you want to see, and trust that time and familiarity will bring man people around.
