The Illusion of change

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In order to allay the fears and anxiety that have gripped the staff over the removal of the CEO and to assure them that their interest would be paramount to the new administration, the Acting CEO said as part of his speech ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same’.

I do not know for sure whether he knew it or was just repeating a fact of life as he had observed it, but that was a quote from Bon Jovi’s song titled ‘The More Things Change’. Bon Jovi in his song highlighted the illusion of change that has gripped the world. Instead of changing for the better, the world continues to sink into the mire of the worst kind in badness and corruption.

Please see below some more lines from Bon Jovi’s song:

Ah, is it just me or does anybody see
The new improved tomorrow isn't what it used to be
Yesterday keeps comin' 'round, it's just reality
It's the same damn song with a different melody
The market keeps on crashin'

Tattered jeans are back in fashion

I tell you one more time with feeling
Even though this world is reeling
You're still you and I'm still me

The same sunrise, it's just another day
If you hang in long enough they say you're comin' back

You're either runnin' round in circles or you're runnin' out of time
Everybody somewhere either 12, 3, 6 or 9
The times they are a-changin'
We're here to turn the page
It's the same old story but it's told a different way

Don't hold out for tomorrow or hold onto yesterday

Never and forever just keep comin' back again

That song clearly typifies the illusion of change. It clearly captures human’s experience in its attempt to change and the delusion that come to people who truly wish for change but never get to see it.



You may have seen this illusion in the political sphere. Change often comes when the people revolt because they are tired of the present order or it is engineered by a few powerful people who instigate change for their personal reasons. But what happens when the dust settles? The man who condemned the corruption of the former order begins to typify it. Activists and revolutionaries become the despots and tyrants they once opposed. Anti-corruption advocates perpetuate the worst kinds of corruption. Is there something in the ‘Office’ that turns people against their purported values?

Yeah, I have observed that there is a lot of hypocrisy in those who promote change. Many times, they cloak they desire for prominence with a promise to bring about change. It is no wonder that they abandon the ‘change’ as soon as they grab 'the prominence'. Then, there are many who do not know that change does not end with changing people at the helm. Soon, the new helmsmen are dragged down into the quagmire & change dies, naturally.

Over time people have learned that there is hardly any enduring change and that is because change requires concerted effort over a long period of time. (Unfortunately, the political and social system in place now prefers superficial change with minimal effort and is averse to long stay in any position). So people wait with bated breath for the time the fervor of the Change Champion will wane or he leaves office and then they will rush back to the old ways. A colleague who terribly resisted changes to work by a former Director once told me ‘You guys are just wasting your time. Is this place her home? After 8 years at most, she must leave and we will do things in the way it works. It is a waiting game'. Whereas, the change makers’ stay is tenured. The status keepers stay forever! Through culture, they keep the status quo alive indefinately.



What is the common response when change is proposed or pursued? You may have observed it many times yourself as people quickly shape up to the rhetoric of the ‘new Sheriff in town’. They observe his resolve to implement his proposed changes and where it is lacking; they scoff at him and go deeper into the rot. Where the change momentum is sustained, people wait for the ‘evil wind’ to blow past and then they revert. I have seen this happen again and again.

Does that mean that lasting positive change is impossible? Several things must happen before any change can endure.

1. Institutional change is required. The whole framework of laws and institutions driving, promoting and enforcing the change must be set up. If there is no mechanism for enforcement, forget it. Even the scriptures say that ‘Because sentence against a bad deed has not been executed speedily, the heart of men becomes emboldened to do bad.’*

2. Education: Everyone must be fully informed of the changes, what it is, how it benefits them, their roles and responsibilities and a shared sense of cooperation to change and to support the change must be engendered. This education must be continuous! This has been the failure of most political system of government and social systems. After a while, as people lose sight of the change fundamentals, it simply falls apart.

3. Motives must be pure! Every hand must be on deck to ensure that things change. Personal interests must be subordinate to the general good. Unfortunately, ‘the inclination of the heart of man is bad from his youth up’.#

4. Strict enforcement, with positive, and negative reinforcements and punishments. Strict application of consequences management that is well communicated and is impartially implemented.

5. Change in culture must be total. We must abhor corruption not just because it doesn’t currently favour us. There must be a total abhorrence of the evil ways.

6. The longevity of change champions must be guaranteed. Today, man’s life is short, tenure in office is uncertain. In some places where you see longevity, the other factors would be sorely missing.

7. Common purpose: Everyone must have a common purpose to make changes. This must come through education, and a resolve to avoid or survive some apocalyptic event.

8. Time must pass! Change takes time, lots of it. It takes time to change behaviour, character and beliefs. It takes time & that is what no change agent has in good measure.

The decay I see, even in advanced cultures makes me doubt if any society can truly achieve lasting change. Can any society or organization ensure that the criteria for effective change enumerated above can be met?











We look forward to change that is more than skin deep, but unfortunately, it does appear that the illusion continues. In changes promoted by man, ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’. But we will be hopeful and look forward to an administration that ensures that the more things change, they become unrecognizable!

Postscript:

There is a proposed worldwide change that meets all the criteria above. I’ll review it in the #NuggetFromTheScriptures.



* Ecle. 8:11

# Genesis 8:21

Credits: Bon Jovi The more things change https://www.musixmatch.com/
New mindset: https://thechangeleadership.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Change-Leadership-New-Mindset-1024x720-1.jpeg
Oga we no get change; https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTGt_i7UeJnJVnErCCnNCXLjklkX0G31ArL9w&usqp=CAU
Circles: https://hotsweatymamas.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/circles.jpg
In Circles: https://freerangestock.com/sample/118007/businessmen-running-in-circles-.jpg




Comments

  1. juduchSeptember 22, 2023 at 2:31 PM

    Thanks dear brother, for me numbers 6 & 7 play a critical role for change to occur. More important, the only permanent change will be brought about by God's kingdom . Thanks and I thoroughly enjoyed the article

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2023 at 2:37 AM

    Wonderful tapestry! Chinua Achebe thought so in the Arrow of God. Humanity's innate desire for change stems in my view from natural dissatisfaction with self. The self condemnation arising from disconnection from God. And worse,,attempting to reconnect with Him through self-designed way that completely eliminates God Himself.
    So I agree. Today's Change is an illusion. QED.

    ReplyDelete

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