21^st Century Enlightenment

A635.1.3.RB

After viewing the above video, reflect on the following questions in a well-written post on your Reflection Blog. Do not simply list and answer the prompts. Instead, write your blog, incorporating your thoughts into your reflection. Make certain to incorporate your own experiences into your reflection.

• Why do you think the talk is titled 21st Century Enlightenment?
• What does Matthew Taylor mean when he says "to live differently, you have to think differently"?
• At one point in the video (4:10), Taylor argues that we need "to resist our tendencies to make right or true that which is merely familiar and wrong or false that which is only strange". What is he talking about? Can you think of an example within your company or your life that supports this point?
• Taylor argues that our society should eschew elements of pop culture that degrade people and that we should spend more time looking into what develops empathetic citizens. Would this be possible?
• At the end of the video, Taylor talks about atomizing people from collaborative environments and the destructive effect on their growth. What are the implications of these comments for organizational change efforts?
• What can you take away from this exercise to immediately use in your career?

Matthew Taylor’s (n.d.) discussion in the video 21^st Century Enlightenment was very intriguing and forces one to explore self and social awareness. This I believe is one of the reasons this discussion is labeled 21^st Century Enlightenment. In that, the time has arrived where we as human beings and as a society must re-examine who we are, where we’re are going, how we will get there, where there is and why it’s so important. In other words, just like the 18^th century enlightenment, we in the 21^st century must now look critically at all that we have become through the need to evolve as individuals and society and the technologically advances have both aided and morphed our current perceptions, beliefs, and values. This also leads me to believe this is central to Taylor’s (n.d.) statement of, “to live differently, you have to think differently." Indeed, much of our subconscious and conscious thoughts and beliefs directly shape who we are and how we respond to the countless messages we receive in our dynamic environments. This point is eloquently made by to Phil Mancuso (n.d.) as he discusses how such messages affected how is thought and its direct link to how he lived with a fear of public speaking.

All those messages, indelibly programmed into your subconscious combine to create your belief system. They become the filters through which we create our reality…our self-image, acting on them as if they’re true. While they don’t change the world around us, they filter our life experience until we believe them to be true. 

The tendency for mankind to accept change is historically poor. In fact, in many cases where change was immediately applied is when mankind has been on the brink. Nevertheless, there have been innovators and those, at the time considered not normal, have been ahead of their time and revolutionized some aspect of the world and reality that force change and or a different perception. Taylor (n.d.) states "to resist our tendencies to make right or true that which is merely familiar and wrong or false that which is only strange" sheds light on mankind’s resistance to change or attaching a negative connotation to anything different. In fact, there is a quote from Rear Admiral Grace Hopper that comes to mind as read Taylor’s statement. Hopper is quoted as saying, “The most dangerous phrase in the language is “we’ve always done it this way.”” I immediately recalled a situation while I was a new leader of a military organization and many of my senior leaders were preparing their formations for a field exercise and these leaders were following a pattern of preparation that didn’t seem to me as efficient. So I directly asked one of my leaders why things were occurring the way they were, she stated, “because that the way they always have been done here.” Needless to say, in this case, things did not remain the same. Resisting change is easy, accepting change is much more difficult.

There are many societal and cultural behaviors that develop from pop culture and enters societies mainstream. In fact, due to globalization and the technological advances it has brought to the masses, information, news, and Hollywood’s influence is widely available. By and large, society has taken to “up to the second” information (whether true or not is a different story) and its appetite for severe drama in the form of reality tv has grown over the years. I would even venture to say that many who indulge in this form of “fix” tend to perpetuate the need for more exciting new “flavors” that lead to the degrading and marginalizing of others. The source of this I believe is what Taylor was noting as society needing to eschew. I think that Taylor is correct in believing that society at large would have to arrive at a point (brink) to collectively hold such behavior and material as detrimental and thus push away from such pop culture. Yet, I do not believe Taylor full acknowledges at the same time that it is the same society that he believes should eschew, is in fact thirsting for more. I feel that one of the most significant reason much of this material is around or accepted is because it has made it way into people’s lives (society) through the form of entertainment that such antics is not only accepted by many, but also reciprocated. Later when Towards the end of the video, Taylor also mention atomizing people from collaborative environments and the destructive effect on their growth. I believe that everyone has certain rights to think, believe, and act how they wish as long as it does not jeopardize the well-being of another. Limiting or fragmenting any one or groups as a result of this factors has the potential evoke singular actions. Diversity is essential for perspective to evolve and change to occur. On the other hand, I believe it should be handled responsibly. 

I feel that Taylor makes many great points. I too believe that we as human being should continually explore self-awareness and improvement. Moreover, as a result of the evolution and technological advances that have occurred of the past decades, we are destine to make a conscious effort to redirect where we are and where we are going (enlightenment). However, as I noted above, I believe that such drastic changes usually occur when we are on the brink. What event will lead to this, it is difficult to predict. Yet, as a society, I feel that we have more to offer to each other than the increased brash and dramatic behavior that tends to fill out consciousness. That being self-aware and empathic to other is an important aspect that will lead to the best results for all. This is something I believe is essential in any environment, especially in any professional environment.

References

Mancuso, P. (n.d.) Who Do You Think You Are? Your Perception Creates Your Reality. International Chiropractic Pediatric Association. Retrieved from http://www.chiro.org/ChiroAssistant/Articles/Who_Do_You_Think_You_Are.shtml.

Taylor, M. (n.d.) 21^st Century Enlightenment. RSA Animate. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC7ANGMy0yo.