These Pillars No Longer Support

I have had some time to reflect on the turmoil that the world currently faces. Whether you be pro-brexit or anti, pro-trump or anti, or even whatever side of what ever thing that we face; we can probably all agree that the world in the last 15 years has gone through some radical changes.

I have listened to many people over this period share how this has impacted them. I have listened to the realities that they now face and questions they are now asking and I am want to make a simple interpretation. Now some people might like to add or subtract from this list but I think it sums up a large part of our Western underpinnings of what is deemed a healthy society. 

I think that society has been built on the following social structural pillars

• Economics
• Government
• Religion
• Healthcare
• Education
• Politics
• Law and Order
• Military

In the past 15 years these pillars have eroded away. Society today cannot trust any of these pillars and this has been evident in the last 15 years. All these pillars in some way or another has been exposed and where we once found stability we now find exposure. We now see that what we thought was good and just is in fact dangerous and corrupt.  

Based on the current stats of young voters in both Brexit and American elections this lack of stability is not a problem. However, the opposite is true of those older generations who still hold on to these pillars. 

I think both Brexit and American votes are signs of a dualistic split amongst people of two different generations. 

I work for a religious organisation which in the past has often been a pillar in society and that currently is fading. For some people it is still a pillar for them whilst for others it is outdated and represents a bygone age. The me this is an exciting time. It is a time of growth and renewal. For a new way of dreaming what our joint future can be. The future is not something to be afraid of, it is something we fight for. 

Society has changed in the past and it will change in the future, the question is how we respond now. I have hope for the future but not in the pillars but in the fact that we have been here before as a society and we made it. In the words of the slave hymn "We Shall Overcome". This situation that we find ourselves apart of globally is not the final word. It is not the final outcome and there is still more to come. 

The larger question for me is that all these pillars will still function in our society but how?