A Narrow and Vanishing Perspective
I only have one opinion so it is the only one I can give. Sounds narrow minded and resistant, but isn’t that how every person lives life? One of the challenges in the modern world is to understand the speed that culture is changing and to comprehend that the rate of information and content is being blurred by generational and cultural myopia. Does any generation have an absolute truth—a point of view that is immutable, timeless, and irrefutable? Obviously, there are differences on point of view, but there is strong evidence to suggest that what is happening in culture today is affecting communication in the 21st century.
In recent bog post Ed Stetzer (2011) cited Adlai Stevenson who stated, ‘”That which seems the height of absurdity in one generation often becomes the height of wisdom in another.’ He did not have a particularly high view of the next generation, but he does challenge us to consider the radical changes in thinking that are sometimes seen between generations” (Stetzer). The apparent point to be understood is that every generation has a perspective that is what shapes the beliefs— what is deemed important—values that for a perspective about importance. What is apparent from understanding cultural development is that a cultural perspective is shaping the point of view and what can be seen is that each generation has its own mind-set.
Just as people from different cultures, races, and people groups think differently about important issues, generations think differently about matters of importance. There is a different point of view that is emerging and is worth taking time to consider. One thing common to every generation is how the collective perspective is internalized. Stetzer (2011) cited George Orwell’s perspective that says, “Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it and wiser than the one that comes after it” (Stetzer). Are current generations really more intelligent or are earlier generations wiser? Obviously, the answer depends on perspective – what it looks like from where you are standing.
What perspectives are influencing the way life is understood in the 21st century?
The perspective, the unique way, life is understood today is a sociological and cultural phenomenon and to continue to deny what is shaping the point of view of the emergent culture only creates frustration, disconnection, and does not offer any substantive answers.
Ideologues and philosophers offer suggestion about what is occurring, but unfortunately understanding ideals and philosophy alone will not enable the best outcome. Ideals, are generally moral or mores’ based principles creating expectations. Philosophical assumptions are ways beliefs are rationalized into reason the informational content of perspective. Values– axiology– has more to do with how importance, passion, and motivation affect beliefs; what is the felt experience. The tension deposited results in conflicting ideas of importance creating disconnect between perceptions held in rationale beliefs from an experienced reality. Who is right and where do rational, feeling come and where do individuals beliefs based. Unfortunately, I find myself at odds with most idealist and the emphasis upon what should be and find myself focused upon what emerging culture is saying that needs to be heard to connect perception to reality. Indeed, there is a constant flow of information that redefines the importance of logical information understood, but it is what is felt about the information that places the greatest emphasis upon perspectives.
Any fool can tell you what is wrong with something, but knowing what is wrong is not the critical issue. One perspective is to write people off who look different, think different, and have a differing perspective. Another point of view is to embrace the culture that we live in to learn the language, thinking, and mindset of the 21st century. Seeing someone else’s perspective is not whitewashing culture or moralizing behaviors, it is asking why do people do that in the way they do and understanding if the desire is to connect, communicate, and build meaningful relationships that we need to understand more than what we know.
With the increasing isolation of people and the desire to have relationships, there is a tremendous opportunity to step outside a solitary opinion and understand people as part of a culture that thinks different than we do and demonstrates a tremendous potential if we could understand how perception is impacting beliefs and governs communication in the 21st century.
Point of View Perspective Beliefs God Theology Church Traditions Statistics Surveys Theory Demographics Communication Context Relationships Unchurched Christian Universalism Philosophy Vision Mission Outcome.
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