The Culture of Blame
Do you remember the good ol’ days? The days where we enjoyed our lives because we were entrusted to make decisions for ourselves? Not all that long ago, the proles were in the box seat – we understood everything that was going on within our jobs and our societies, communication was the key and everyone had a part to play. Because everyone listened to each other, our communities were stronger, more powerful and they GREW because everyone listened to each other.
So what happened? Well the jury is still out on that one. Who was responsible for the collapse in society? Who caused the recession? Where did we all go wrong? Who was to blame?
And therein lies the problem. BLAME. Our modern society is increasingly feeling the need to identify specific culprits and hang them out to dry. People are scared to think and act for themselves in case they unwittingly break some law, some rule, and get sent to jail.
During the last fifteen-to-twenty years there has been a definite shift from collective responsibility towards cultural responsibility. Twenty (or so) years ago there used to be more of a culture of collective responsibility. People within a community stood together. Nowadays it’s every man for himself – instead of growing together, communicating, living according to our individual consciences, the tendency is now to see individuals as heroes or villains of the hour. Where rules are broken, the situation invariably results in witch-hunts, with the authorities and/or the media desperately searching for someone to blame. But IMO the problem is not who is to blame, but the fact that our governments chose to perpetuate this culture of culpability and liability in the first place.
There is a new trend in our western societies towards increased regulation. We are not allowed to make decisions for ourselves as individuals. Instead our governments think for us. As the population of the planet balloons, our authorities seek to keep control the only way they can – by inventing ever more laws to keep control. In densely populated countries such as the U.K. we are particularly susceptible to exponentially increasing amounts of legislation. The burden of the people to comply with ever-increasing numbers of new RULES is immense. America and the rest of the world are rapidly following suit. 2257 was just a smaller symptom of a bigger disease. Behold the rise of the nanny state! As individuals, we are no longer trusted to choose how to live our lives, do our jobs, what to feed our children or how we spend our leisure time. Instead our governments are choosing for us.
The society we grew up with has changed beyond all recognition. The desire to govern effectively is seen to be achievable only by legislating for all eventualities. As a result we have an audit-based society where the authorities are forever checking that we have complied with their rules. So our governments are spending more and more of our hard earned money (which should be used to fund economic growth, healthcare and education) on creating compliance organisations whose function is to check and certify individuals and companies comply with all the new rules. Governments are creating more process, more systems, more legislation and ever more red tape.
The world is moving away from trusting individuals to think and judge for themselves. Increasingly the ability to make decisions is being stripped from us, and with it, our power over our own lives.
Things will never be the same again, but it is my belief and hope that eventually we will reach a tipping point, a point where our governments will decide not to see the worst in its citizens and instead have the courage to trust us again. One day our rulers will realise that the best way to govern is to cut legislation and restore the principles of individual responsibility and freedom.
It is only then that we, as a society, will grow strong again.
Images are of Ifat
So what happened? Well the jury is still out on that one. Who was responsible for the collapse in society? Who caused the recession? Where did we all go wrong? Who was to blame?
And therein lies the problem. BLAME. Our modern society is increasingly feeling the need to identify specific culprits and hang them out to dry. People are scared to think and act for themselves in case they unwittingly break some law, some rule, and get sent to jail.
During the last fifteen-to-twenty years there has been a definite shift from collective responsibility towards cultural responsibility. Twenty (or so) years ago there used to be more of a culture of collective responsibility. People within a community stood together. Nowadays it’s every man for himself – instead of growing together, communicating, living according to our individual consciences, the tendency is now to see individuals as heroes or villains of the hour. Where rules are broken, the situation invariably results in witch-hunts, with the authorities and/or the media desperately searching for someone to blame. But IMO the problem is not who is to blame, but the fact that our governments chose to perpetuate this culture of culpability and liability in the first place.
There is a new trend in our western societies towards increased regulation. We are not allowed to make decisions for ourselves as individuals. Instead our governments think for us. As the population of the planet balloons, our authorities seek to keep control the only way they can – by inventing ever more laws to keep control. In densely populated countries such as the U.K. we are particularly susceptible to exponentially increasing amounts of legislation. The burden of the people to comply with ever-increasing numbers of new RULES is immense. America and the rest of the world are rapidly following suit. 2257 was just a smaller symptom of a bigger disease. Behold the rise of the nanny state! As individuals, we are no longer trusted to choose how to live our lives, do our jobs, what to feed our children or how we spend our leisure time. Instead our governments are choosing for us.
The society we grew up with has changed beyond all recognition. The desire to govern effectively is seen to be achievable only by legislating for all eventualities. As a result we have an audit-based society where the authorities are forever checking that we have complied with their rules. So our governments are spending more and more of our hard earned money (which should be used to fund economic growth, healthcare and education) on creating compliance organisations whose function is to check and certify individuals and companies comply with all the new rules. Governments are creating more process, more systems, more legislation and ever more red tape.
The world is moving away from trusting individuals to think and judge for themselves. Increasingly the ability to make decisions is being stripped from us, and with it, our power over our own lives.
Things will never be the same again, but it is my belief and hope that eventually we will reach a tipping point, a point where our governments will decide not to see the worst in its citizens and instead have the courage to trust us again. One day our rulers will realise that the best way to govern is to cut legislation and restore the principles of individual responsibility and freedom.
It is only then that we, as a society, will grow strong again.
Images are of Ifat
posted by Lin at 10:41 AM
4 Comments:
Interesting. Have you noticed that, despite the hyper-auditing, hyper-regulatory atmosphere, we are going down the tubes? That tells you something about the good ole days.
When you're over 60 years old and find out a U.S. state wants to legislate away your freedom to consent to pose nude, can you imagine how that feels????
You're spot on, Lin!
No one wants to take personal responsibility any more. Some feel all you have to do is say I am sorry and think it is cruel to have consequential actions taken.
Off on vacation, stay warm ... cruise.
Ah, therein lies the rub...
As much as I agree that individual rights should be maintained and protected, I must point out that Western Culture is really its own worst enemy.
Marketing has pushed the boundries of 'good' taste to such an extent that if advertising doesn't have 'shock value', it has no value at all.
Nude photography, once the realm of beauty and talent is now been hijacked by those who demand attention, not respect. Do we REALLY need one more pic of a naked woman in bondage? Do we really need to celebrate violence in our art and in cinema and video games? How much 'Deviant'_fill_in_the_blank websites do we really need?
Thoughtful, conscience artistic decisions are now overwhelmed by the need for attention, and that need leads to the degrading of our art (photography) and what we hold most dear (beauty).
In the States there is an ongoing court case regarding whether 'Two Girls, One Cup' is artistic expression or just some of the most vile, degrading porn ever made. IMHO, this is not art and SHOULD be legislated out of existence. It has no artistic value and stands only on its shock value. For me, its a microcosm for our culture.
It's also amazing to me how the crafting of the arts, once a lifetime pursuit, can be circumvented by simple redefining what 'art' is. Those with little training or imagination are allowed to set the new rules with their 'vision'. Typically, their 'vision' is bad photography being worshiped by people who don't know the difference.
To paraphrase an American comic strip, we have met the enemy and he is us.
I can't boast of having a solution nor do I want the 'arts police' patrolling my neighborhood, but when we allow the worship artistically false idols and not cry 'CRAP' when we see it, we only perpetuate the cultural decline into the sewer and invite legislation to draw a line in the sand to separate the arts from 'shock', something that we should have done for ourselves long ago.
Much love to you and Mr. Bond,
Bob
Awesome comment, Bob, and I (mostly) agree with you.
In many respects the modern media and the internet in particular have created a global sewer, and much of it is in very bad taste. However regulating artistic freedom is a double-edged sword. If you regulate against "shock advertising" and filth (a subjective concept in itself), then you risk taking away the very right to freedom that you Americans hold so dear. On the other hand, if we allow complete freedom, then we must permit people the right to create crap as well. One man's crap is another man's art, even if the primary objective of the "art" is to shock.
Freedom vs. Rules. The eternal balancing act!
It is very difficult to legislate against bad taste!
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