The world has entered an era of the most profound and challenging change in human history.
Stephen CoveyRead
Movements have narratives. They tell stories, because they are not just about rearranging economics and politics. They also rearrange meaning. And they're not just about redistributing the goods. They're about figuring out what is good.
Interpretation
Movements are about storytelling and redefining values, not just changing systems.
This quote emphasizes the significance of narratives within movements; they are not solely focused on the economic and political aspects but also on transforming the underlying meaning of what is deemed 'good.' It suggests that successful movements involve a deeper engagement with values and narratives that shape societal perspectives.
In practice
In a speech about social justice, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of narratives in movements.
The world has entered an era of the most profound and challenging change in human history.
But the whole point of the Sixties was that you had to take people as they were. If you came in with us you left your class, and colour, and religion behind, that was what the Sixties was all about.
By changing nothing, nothing changes.
Great upheavals produce shock waves that widen cracks in political, economic, and security orders. Sometimes the old orders break. Yet it can be in the power of leaders and peoples to shape the directions of change.
I’ve also been reminded recently that while as a society we are moving toward greater inclusion and equality for all people, the tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible.
The world is waiting for new saints, ecstatic men and women who are so deeply rooted in the love of God that they are free to imagine a new international order.
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