This week made my brain hurt! In our society - Britain we heard phrases like ‘easing’, ‘broken rules’ whilst at the same time we saw awful scenes in the US of the horrific murder of George Floyd. It got me thinking: what is society? What are the principles, the contract, the unwritten rules to which we abide? In Malcolm Gladwell’s book David and Goliath he talks about the principles of legitimacy, he says:
In order for us to argue that any society is legitimate we have to agree on 3 core principles
1. We agree the principles
2. The leaders of that society model and enforce those principles fairly
3. The citizens will be treated fairly in accordance to those agreed principles
We have been through an unprecedented shift and yet as we “ease” out the other side, suspicion and disquiet prevails. I wonder, maybe as a society we are questioning the legitimacy of the old rules and asking what society do we want? What should be our new unwritten rules our new contract? This is a huge opportunity for us all. We can set the tone, be accountable and be the example for others. What rules do we feel are legitimate now, how will we model and be part of those? How can we be fair, compassionate in these new beginnings?
Could the ‘new normal’ be something wonderfully different? I guess it’s up to us … society to decide … then be. (Once my head stops hurting!)