Is This the World You Want Your Children and Grandchildren to Inherit?
It’s hard to ignore the disturbing problems all around us:
National and geopolitical power struggles
Technology that benefits some and significantly harms others
Economic disparity
Climate change
Growing social dysfunction.
Widespread communication leads to widespread overwhelm and a growing sense of despair. Most young people don’t believe they will live as well as their parents did. And mental health issues are significant among Millennials and Gen Z.
There are only two ways to deal with this.
One is to hunker down in our individual cocoons, try to build a moat around ourselves, and enjoy life as we can. This works well for some but is impossible or impractical for others. It also does little to solve our problems.
But is there any clear path to making a real difference?
Is there something we could all embrace and implement? YES – and it is the better way. We are bombarded with messages that equate our worth with wealth, power, and superficial success, leading to collective amnesia about our true value.
Our true worth lies much deeper than that.
In his autobiography, I Never Had It Made, Jackie Robinson shared a conversation he had on signing with the Dodgers’ manager. As the first African American admitted to major league baseball, it was about the challenge of turning the other cheek to ongoing resistance and racial discrimination. He said:
“The most luxurious possession, the richest treasure anybody has,
is his personal dignity.”⠀ — Jackie Robinson
Beneath most of our struggles is one core issue we need to finally address – the struggle to be recognized as worthy - the need we all have to protect personal dignity.
This underlies most dysfunction in friendships, marriages, with parents and children, in business, communities, and across nations.
Personal dignity is embedded in our very identity. It reflects our sense of self-worth, derived from both the inherent value of our human life and from many unique attributes we possess and cherish. The only way forward from the mess we’re in is to recognize the personal dignity of every human being.
And the place to begin is with ourselves.
Think about your own dignity. Beneath the trappings of your life, can you recognize a YOU inside that feels valuable? What are the many things about yourself that you value? In what ways do you want others to respect them?
***
And that’s The Gist of It™ - essential ideas to advance dignity, practice humility, and develop leaders of character and integrity.
Thank you for being part of this community!
If you find this helpful, I’d feel honored if you would share it with others.
They can get The Gist of It™ in their inbox twice a month by signing up here.
Marilyn Gist, PhD