Last post, we asked our audience: what is the biggest problem in today’s culture? With a plethora of responses, many responded with an answer related to personal responsibility, the ill effects of social media, declining moral/faith values, over-value of self and own opinions/wants/and needs, and some kind of “lack” — especially lack of education, reverence for God, and respect for one another.
I appreciate, too, the answers that filtered in thereafter, with one of the more poignant responses centering around how our culture treats those with unseen illness, specifically mentioning mental illness. From my limited perspective, there is no “side” that consistently treats those with mental illness or cognitive disability consistently well. Sometimes we as a culture can be quite judgmental of what we do not see… what we do not know… what we do not understand.
That said, we flipped the question for today’s dialogue. What do you think is the biggest positive regarding today’s culture?
Allow me a couple of acknowledgements prior to sharing the responses. As in our last post, I heard from many — and I heard from a diverse many… persons from varied age, stage, ethnicity, circumstance, political leaning, etc. I love that! … and I value it deeply. The same was again true. I also witnessed significant overlap within that diversity. I love that, too. Such tells me that we may not be as far apart or polarized as the supposed “sides” as some want us to believe we are in order to fulfill their own agenda.
However, I did find persons having a harder time vocalizing their opinion and doing so concisely. I have thus tried to group the responses and overlap, as possible. Here’s what people said: what do you think is the biggest positive regarding today’s culture?
- Freedom (… answers included individual liberty, lifestyle, religion, from government, etc.)
- Awareness (… much in regard to ongoings in the city, country, and world… as one person said it, “We are more globally connected to the struggles across the globe.”)
- Speed of social awareness
- Innovation
- Technology
- Social media (… answers centered around two primary aspects: one, the global awareness as above expressed; and two, the ability to maintain friendships regardless of geographic location…)
- Ease of access to varied perspectives and points of view
- Compassion
- Generosity
- Passion (… as opposed to apathy, that passion could lead to positive results, if used for good…)
- Acceptance (… both of people and varying lifestyle…)
- Openness
- Tolerance (…not political…)
- Improved opportunities (… especially for people that, in the past, would have been marginalized due to race, religion, or gender…)
- Improved educational opportunity
- The respect and voice women have (… said by an American currently living in foreign country…)
- The youth
- The number speak out for the voiceless, feed the hungry, take care of the poor and practice justice and mercy
- That this culture is temporal — not eternal
- God’s grace
- God is not dead
- God is working
- God is still in control — in spite of us!
And there were several who added the following:
There are still good, kind and humble people in this world!
Hence, a couple concluding notes…
Just as we found when asking about the problems instead of the positives, there was no consistent pointing to a specific person or party. There were not these so-called political divides; the above answers came from persons who lean all over the place politically.
Also, with the exception of the social media responses (which, one will note, showed up as both a positive and a problem), as one participant shared, “A good number of the responses relate to problems that aren’t entirely new. It seems that many comment on the universal human condition — a condition that has existed for many years — and not solely the decline of American society in 2017.”
That should tell us something. That should stop some of the finger pointing. That should prompt us to increased empathy and forgiveness… and decreased selfishness and “sides.”
There is good in this world.
Respectfully…
AR