Change is a Choice

• This is not a political commentary. 
• It is a commentary about our society, attitudes we maintain about how our world works, and what is possible. 
• We have more choices that most of us ever realize.

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The presidential campaign of Barack Obama in 2008 was very successful with the slogan “Hope and Change.”  People bought into the attitude of implied optimism.  They needed some hope, some relief from the intense negativity and divisiveness of previous administrations.  But there was a problem. 

“Hope” and “Change” are abstract concepts.  They are fairly meaningless unless they are defined in terms of some event or effect, empty and insincere unless they are coupled with some specified action or result.  The problem with the “Hope and Change” campaign was that it never got too specific about what was being hoped-for, or how change would be effected, or what would be the actual outcome of the change imposed.

In modern politics, change is almost axiomatic.  Both conservatives and progressives (liberals) tend to either identify or engender dissatisfaction, and then seek to CHANGE the object of the dissatisfaction.  The left-leaning politician promises something new and improved (and better), whereas the right-leaning politician promises something tried and true (and better).  Most conservatives promote change just as much as progressives.  The difference is that conservatives and progressives envision positive changes from opposing historical perspectives.

But “Change” should have no positive or negative connotation.  Change can be either good or bad.  Change can mean that you will get a promotion, or that you will lose your job.  Change can mean that your cancer will go into remission, or that it will start spreading aggressively. Change as a goal in itself is irrational.
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Most people in our nation and society, if they were being honest, would admit that change is not always good.  But let’s go one step further. 

There is an accepted assumption about change that most people in our nation and society accept as axiomatic, self-evident, obvious, not needing proof.  That assumption, often repeated in all venues of society from the halls of Congress to the halls of the local elementary school, is that change is inevitable.  The surprising truth is that it is not.  Change is not inevitable.

To those who are having a sudden violent reaction because I just committed a heresy against a popular culture truism – Yes, I did say that.  Change is NOT inevitable.
 

Cases in point: (1) Ancient Egypt survived with very little change for several thousands of years.  (2) The Dark Ages in Europe lasted six centuries with only a few significant blips on the historical record.  These are historical examples of times and places where change was conspicuously absent.  They demonstrate that cultural change is absolutely NOT inevitable.  

Before I go any further, let me clarify what I mean.  There are different levels of the human experience.  Certainly personal lives will continue to experience life changes simply by virtue of being human. 

Changes at a personal level are what make a lifetime.   Personal changes will indeed happen to all of us, and we wouldn’t want it to be otherwise, because these kinds of change are the punctuation of the story of our life.

Babies will be born, children will become adults, older generations will be replaced by younger generations, and in the end, all will finally pass on.  The cycles of human life will endure. 

The sun will rise and set, spring will follow winter, and the tides will rise and fall.  The cycles of nature will continue as they always have, regardless of human attitudes or interference. 

Sometimes change will be imposed upon individuals or groups.  A company will downsize and a worker will lose his job.  A distracted driver will disable a loved one.  A friend will graduate from college.  A child will marry and move away from home.  These personal life changes will always be a part of our existence. 

Our societies, however, do not have to change constantly, as our personal lives will.  When I say change is not inevitable, I am talking about changes at the level of our society or civilization.  Cultural context can be stable and enduring, and constant or complex cultural change is not inevitable.

Those who assert that change is inevitable almost invariably use personal examples to justify their statement, then proceed as if they have proven society will inevitably change.  Their logic is flawed and their conclusions are erroneous.  The unsettled nature of our constantly-changing society is not inevitable.  It is operating according to patterns that were established a long time ago by those who came before us.  This characteristic of our society is a CHOICE that our predecessors made, and a CHOICE that we make anew with each generation.   It doesn't have to be this way.

A partisan may argue that people should support his or her cause because progress is inevitable, and if the people do not support the cause then some other undesirable consequence will follow.  But that tactic is dishonest, an attempt to trick people into abandoning their choices.  Once the people accept the limitations the partisan imposes, it becomes easy for the partisan to manipulate them with threats and false hopes, by painting the future in terms of impending doom or glory.  The partisan, with his "bias for action," will not tell the people that there are always more alternatives, and free will often includes the option of NOT changing.

You may or may not want to live in a world without change, but the relevant point is that constant change is NOT inevitable.  Living in the midst of constant change is a CHOICE that we make as a society.  You might argue that change is necessary, that it is desirable, even that certain changes constitute a moral imperative.  But you cannot logically assert that change will come whether we want it or not.  Change is always the result of our collective choices. 

Many readers are now loathing the thought of a world in which the status quo is simply accepted.  They are either unwilling or incapable of quickly letting go of that false axiom about change being inevitable.  Many are focusing, no doubt, on the injustices which exist in the world, wondering how I can argue that they should not be corrected.  They are missing the point.  I affirm that there are some cases in which there is a moral imperative to correct injustice.  Accepting the change necessary to correct an injustice, though, does not mean automatic assent to continuing unrelated change.  The fact is, precious few of the changes we experience in our ever-changing society have any basis whatsoever in moral or ethical considerations.  And beyond all this, the question of whether something OUGHT to change and whether it WILL change are not one and the same question.  Human beings have free will and may choose to act or refuse to act, regardless of moral implications. 

It seems to me that we in the 21^st century United States (and to some extent all of western civilization) live in the most tumultuous society humanity has ever produced.  Others have lived through greater changes imposed by conquest or calamity, but no historical culture has made a collective decision to include such constant and culturally-imperative change a part of its very fabric.  I suspect that a stable society would be preferable in many ways to one that is constantly flailing in ongoing attempts to reinvent itself.  I think it might be possible for a society to remain relatively changeless while constantly striving to improve itself.  As long as the values that motivate the society are consistent, the changes will be miniscule - evolutionary rather than revolutionary. 

Would low-impact evolutionary change be a better pattern for our culture and society, going forward, than the existing pattern of constant transformation and endless adjustment?  I think it would lower my stress level.  Yes, it would.  That settles it.  I am now looking for a candidate who will promise me NO CHANGE.

Gryphem



"Change We Can Live With."