Change - Dealing with it!

As much as the world changes it almost seems like it stands still in moments as well. That is kind of illustrated by the Coronavirus ‘lockdown’ where everything felt like it was on hold but as we saw, the planet was being allowed to ‘breathe’ again, pollution had been reduced, we could hear the sounds of nature and levels of crime and violence, at least certain kinds of crime and violence had reduced. It felt like time was standing still but the world was still turning.

I was born in the 70s, ‘grew up’ in the 80s and was a young adult in the 90s, and then it did feel like there was change, meaningful, visible, tangible change. In the 80s, home entertainment in the form of video recorders, TV games and PC’s had arrived; there was the advent of CDs alongside the slow demise of CB Radio (which was effectively a form of Facebook ‘back in the day’). There were advances in domestic electrical equipment and car technology that we now take for granted was an expensive addition.

These were just a sample of the many changes that those of us who grew up in this era, had begun to become accustomed too. Even cordless phones when they first appeared, got us all excited! The idea of going to another room to make or take a private call was extremely novel.

Political developments such as ‘Thatcherism’, the collapse of the Soviet Union and Communism, the end of Apartheid, the release of Nelson Mandela, and reunification of Germany were such monumentally historic events that we felt we were in an immense period of change, real change, change for the better.

There was of course change that wasn’t so positive. AIDS for example, announced it’s arrival in the 80s, so I have to be careful not to look at everything through rose-tinted glasses, as much as tinted glasses were a fashion accessory in the 90s, and needless to say, I had a pair – a fashion faux pas if ever there was one - right up there with cream coloured chinos! Yes, had a few pairs of those as well.

I digress – up until our lives changed irretrievably with Covid-19, the headlines over the last 8 years seemed to be dominated by the financial crisis, the economy, austerity, Trump and Brexit.

Of course form some, many in fact, Brexit and Trump, signifies major change and change that is for them, welcome. Change for me signifies or should at least equate to progress. For me the financial crisis signifies the beginning of the end of neoliberalism, or at least the form of it we have become familiar with, although I think Coronavirus might do more to help us rethink our priorities than any particular political or religious ideology.

The last few years have felt to me like we have gone backwards. There was a time in the 90s, through to the early 00s, when change seemed never ending – the collapse of communism, the end of apartheid, the introduction of the Euro, the expansion of the EU, The Labour Party coming to power in the UK, right up to the election of America’s first black president.

But now, on the back of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we have seen the rise of fundamentalism, extremism, populism, protectionism, climate denial, inequality, poverty – and the emergence of the strongman leader – Putin, Erdogan, Bolsonaro, Orban, Trump, Xi, and Assad. We’ve seen what feels like the last vestige of revolution such as the ‘Arab Spring’ or more recently Hong Kong and protest movements such as Occupy smothered by the rise of racism and fascism once again.

These are worrying times, but I am hopeful. The example of leaders like Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau (although his star seems to have faded a little), New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden and campaigner Great Thunberg means that not all is lost. The qualities combined with the very public pitiful efforts of Australia’s Prime Minster, Scott Morrison, to respond to their wildfires in 2019, and now, the opportunity to rethink our priorities presented to us by this most recent global pandemic, gives me hope that we can make necessary changes.

For example, you can see how a re-thinking’ of what constitutes ‘Key Workers’ has formed part of the discourse particularly in the UK. Coronavirus has been dreadful but if it helps to confirm Care Workers as among Key Workers then this will have be monumental and will signify a shift that cannot go back to the way it was were Care Workers were viewed as low-skilled and poorly paid.

I for one have worked in a nursing home, as a Domestic Assistant, so I know this. All I had to do was vacuum carpets, mop floors, make tea and feed ‘the 5,000’ on a loaf of Veda Bread. I know the shit that Care Assistants take, literally and metaphorically, and I for one never wanted to do their job, but boy, did I know exactly well they worked. At the time, I did my job for an hourly rate of £2.85, and they, for £3.20 an hour!

So I am hopeful, that when (at the time of writing), the ‘new normal’ kicks in, that change that focuses not only priorities, but a renewed sense of global co-operation alongside the re-emergence and reaffirmation of science as the foremost proponent of leading and informing change (rather than ideology). In addition to that, we’ll have a re-alignment of the stars in which we properly and formally recognise and embed Key Workers as the real movers and shakers on this planet.

The need to build change also needs to consider among other things, the nature of our incessant consumer culture; the winner-takes-all mentality; the growing imposition of ‘The Internet of Things’ (without our even realising it never mind not consenting to it); a shift away from materialism to experientialism; our inability to disconnect; automation and artificial intelligence; the continuous need for innovation and entrepreneurship; reasons why an education system designed (in and) for the 19th century still operates in the 21st century; our risk averse-over protective-coddling parent-approaches; anti-intellectualism; endless creation of devices, technology and nonsense ‘services’ that we never knew we needed; the widening class division and wealth gap; the ‘weaponisation’ of language and ‘call-out’ culture, and an on-line presence that has become a free-for-all.

These are just some of the challenges ahead of us but are already here. Are we ready for change? Or are we able to change to be ready?