We all have a view of what culture is. The view I held for years [as a professional change agent] was - "it is the way things are done around here". Therefore if one can change the way things are done then one can change the culture. Simple to say but difficult to do.
Culture comes to us with embedded taboos, symbols, habits, and beliefs. Changing any one of those four elements is a task that can take years [trust me I have been there and done that... ha, ha, ha]. Sure a proficient change agents can perhaps change one, or two, culture assets but.... This is why I continue to reject the notion that an organisation, a nation, or the world is going through a process of culture change. It was not happening in the 1960s and it is not happening in the 2020s.
What is happening is that there is a definitive change taking place within the "political system". Back in 1968... the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr [April] and Bobby Kennedy [June] changed the political system from one set to reform to one reset to continuity. Turns out... the forces that sustain political continuity are difficult to defeat. This proved to be the case back in 1968 [the high water mark of protests against the status quo since WWI and WWII]. And it will prove to be the case today as we live with a new high water mark for political continuity. This new high water mark was framed by those who ordered face masks, socio-economic lockdowns, and healthcare regulations back in 2020 through into 2022.
Most contemporary media reporting about culture is shallow and not to be trusted. It is usually wrapped in an ideological narrative about climate, gender, banks, migration, and military conquests. This means that each ideology is a drug [choose your poison]. It also means that each narrative is storytelling [choose your ending]. Most of these narratives are as real as is "Alice in Wonderland" or "Little Red Riding Hood". Yeah... I am inferring that most of what passes for news about culture borders on pure fantasy. And... as long as most folks get to choose their version of the fantasy they remain happy with their lot.
Richard.
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