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I would be remiss if I did not take this opportunity to discuss a major culture shift, writ large, that occurred last week here in the United States.
First, considering that culture (organizational and writ large) consists of beliefs, behavioral rules, traditions, and rituals, I am speaking specifically about the Supreme Courts decision to allow gay people to legally marry and the response of the country to the massacre at that took place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Both these events demonstrate a major cultural shift in the United States as well as the difficulties in creating a culture shift. There are always two sides to a culture shift -- one that is pushing for a change and the other that tries to maintain the culture as it currently is. I hope to articulate both sides of each of the aforementioned issues and offer some suggestions at the end of this blog entry.
Obergefell vs. Hodges
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, decided that gay people have the same rights as heterosexuals to take part in the institution of marriage. In 2004, Karl Rove was called the architect of the 2004 presidential election of George W. Bush, in large part because he was able to use the issue of gay marriage as a wedge issue, bringing out large number of social conservatives to vote for a president who stated that the institution of marriage was exclusively for one man and one woman. Today, 64% of the country, 80% of Millennials (33 years of age and younger this year), and now the Supreme Court, say people should be able to marry whomever they love regardless of their sexual orientation.
On the opposing side, there are many people (including 4 Supreme Court justices) who are opposed to this shift in culture. You see the opposing view in statements like the one made by the Alabama State Chief Justice that stated, “This decision is even worse that the 19th century decision to uphold racial segregation… because it affects our entire system of morality and family values” (i.e., beliefs, behavioral rules, traditions, and rituals).
Charleston Massacre
On June 17, 2015, a 21-year-old gunman walked into Emanuel AME church and killed 9 people in a Bible study group. After the gunman was caught, investigations found online photographs posted by the shooter showing himself posing with the flag of the Confederate States of America. This has triggered debate on the Confederate flag's position in American society. This represents another cultural shift.
For many years, there has been a large majority of people in the United States that see the Confederate flag as a symbol or racism, white supremacy, and the oppression of black people. This is one view.
I lived in North Carolina for 11 years. I can tell you that many “born and bred” Southerners hold a very different view. There are a group of Southerners who continue to believe that the Confederate flag represents the proverbial lost cause, that Southerners fought nobly for self rule and the region's way of life, that the Confederacy was doomed by North’s greater numbers but the Confederate's cause was right. I have even heard a Southerner quote from the Confederate catechism that, “slaves were spoiled by their beneficent masters.” Many Southerners I have met to this day believe that the United States is doomed because of the unholy trinity of tolerance, diversity, and multiculturalism. This is the opposing view.
However, after the massacre, even high-profile Southerners are now speaking out against the Confederate flag. After the shooting, a South Carolina state representative spoke openly about the Confederate flag and the practices it stood for. He stated, “I am not proud of this heritage... These practices were inhumane, and were wrong… wrong… wrong...” What made this statement particularly notable is that it came from Paul Thurmond, son of Strom Thurmond, a U.S. Senator for forty-eight years and a staunch segregationist, who was a force in the Dixiecrat party who identified strongly with the rebel flag. Paul Thurmond asked for the flag to come down, insisting he, and those that stand with him, are on the right side of history.
Living through Cultural Shift
To people who believe that the Supreme Court ruling on gay marriage was wrong, even in the face of clear data of a majority of Americans supporting the ruling; for those that believe that the Confederate flag should be honored as a part of history, I would offer the following:
Please consider, for yourselves, that people don’t fear change -- people fear loss. For example, if a boss goes to one of his/her employees and says, “Congratulations! Beginning tomorrow, your salary is now doubled.” That would be a change most people would not fear. People don’t fear change, people fear loss -- which means that if you find yourself opposing these changes, it is likely because you are experiencing these changes in culture as a loss. For example, loss of what you know and are familiar with regarding marriage, loss of what you know and have been taught regarding the Confederate flag. Loss is difficult for everyone.
At the same time, I would urge you to look at the social and religious institutions that have taught you what you know about both marriage and the Confederate flag. These institutions are shrinking. While there may be no single reason as to why this is the case, I would suggest that people who are 50 years old and younger (Gen X and Gen Ys) have little to no tolerance for institutions that separate and segregate in ways that previous generations did. Human beings are more than 99.99% genetically the same. We are all the same, with the same (or very similar) physiological, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs -- we are all one. Most people know this on some level.
Sixty-five million years ago there was a meteor strike that hit the earth wiping out the dinosaurs -- well, most of them. Birds, frogs, salamanders, alligators and other reptiles are forms of dinosaurs that survived that mass extinction. They survived because they were able to adapt to a changing environment.
The culture we live in today has shifted. For some people, it will be the equivalent of a meteor strike. We must either adapt to the shift or perish…