Changing... Cultures
© 2024, James McLean
Recently, in the news in Australia, there has been a public debate about the national problem of domestic violence against women.
A quick 'google search' of the number of cultural changes needed within Australia may overwhelm you. The list includes the Federal Parliament (since 2020) and Defence forces and police forces.
At first glance, these issues may seem separate from each other. But of course, they’re not.
These issues signal deeply misogynistic tendencies within our society. The issue in parliament may be seen as a symptom of our societal challenge to deal with attitudes to women, and the way that is expressed - whether that's physical, emotional or verbal.
Culture is a fabric woven from our unconscious assumptions and deeply held beliefs as a community and society. These deeply held beliefs could also be termed ‘values’. The values are woven into the fabric of our lives.
Our lived cultural values, rather than espoused values) have developed over time and have continued to be held as society evolves around them.
These values are held onto because they have proven useful. The question we need to ask is, useful for whom?
Not only that, but how can we reprioritise these values? How do we change them, or even replace them with fresh, new values that benefit society more?
It is always surprising to see reports come out claiming that the rules are being changed or people are getting training for this, that, and the other, and this is going to fix the culture, and then that’ll be that. As though these changes can be made with quick fixes and band-aids, changing the rules won’t cut the mustard.
The fact is that we are facing huge adaptive challenges together, and we need to do the work to see results. Culture develops over time, and these ‘values’ have become deeply entrenched over time. So, it only makes sense that it is going to take time to shift our assumptions and deeply held beliefs. Most of the work will be done in conversations where we ask ourselves what we value now? What do we really want to value? What do we need to value?
So, if we truly want to change our cultures, we need a different approach. We need conversations that reach into hearts and minds so that people can take a step back and assess the way they see the world. We need people to understand that they could be seeing it differently and valuing different things. We need intergenerational conversations that go to the very identity of what it means to be human today.
So what do you think about Changing…. Cultures?