2023 is the peak year of “we”

If you don’t know what I mean by that you should read the book “The Pendulum” by Michael R Drew and Roy H Williams.

It’s a book about how society swings between “me” and “we” and back again in 80-year cycles. Well, it’s really about marketing, but it’s so much deeper than that.

I first read this book around 2012 and thought it was very interesting. It made a lot of sense. While I could see a lot of alignment in current society, and the past seemed to connect with their theories, I struggled to see the soon coming future they painted.

According to their theory based on history, the 2016 president in the USA would be someone not from the political establishment. He would be outspoken, brash, and call out everything that is wrong with politics. Without saying his name, they described Trump very well. Based on this book and Trump announcing his campaign, it wasn’t long before I was very confident he would win.

And to be very clear, I wasn’t a Trump fan. I thought it was absurd. He was just a TV personality who liked to fire people.

But it didn’t take long to see the shift that happened. The narrative went from Trump running for president was a joke and not to be taken seriously, to a full-on attack for Trump. He was made to look like the devil.

Now I started to see the peak of “we” was coming and would be on target.

As we come closer to the peak of “we”, we see the following:

???? Witch hunts happen (guilty until proven innocent)
???? Group victimhood increases (BLM, MeeToo, LGTBQ+)
???? It’s no longer what you’re for, but rather what you’re against
???? Ideological differences become highlighted and not tolerated
???? Societies become divided into groups causing civil unrest
???? Civil wars (riots?) break out
???? The main narrative society follows shifts

There are many more symptoms as we enter that peak of “we” but the main symptom is unrest and desire for change.

The problem is there is no clear solution or direction in which the change should go. This is because society is broken up into divided camps shouting out the issues they are against. Not what they are for.

???? We are against racism!
???? We are against sexism!
???? We are against slavery!
???? We are against those who destroy the environment!

It’s kind of hard to argue against any of that, isn’t it?

I mean, I’d be hard-pressed to find a friend who said those statements are bad.

Because the narrative is focused on what we should be against, we’re trying to define what being against these important issues looks like.

???? If you’re against racism, you must admit that black lives matters, white people are privileged, and systemic racism is the cause of all black people’s hardships.

???? If you’re against sexism, you must admit that all women are oppressed and are objectified. The idea that if a woman stays at home and her main focus is taking care of her family is sexist.

???? If you’re against slavery, you must admit that it’s a white man construct. Only white people owned slaves, and only non-white people have been slaves.

???? If you’re against those who destroy the environment, you must electrify everything! People who don’t by into this narrative want to destroy the planet.

The problem is that when we’re so focused on what we’re against, we forget WHAT WE ARE FOR!

By being solely focused on what we’re against, we do actually become the very thing we hate. And when we become the very thing we hate, we become even angrier…at others.

In my short 46 years on earth:

???? I’ve never been called a racist, until the last few years
???? I’ve never been called a sexist, until the last few years
???? I’ve never been told I support slavery, until the last few years
???? I’ve never been told my existence is killing the earth, until the last few years.

I didn’t suddenly become any of these things. But the masses have been brainwashed into believing them to be true because I don’t fit the narrative of what they’re against.

As such, the people that are deep into their cults of what they’re against will never find common ground with other people like myself, because we’re all the enemy, and the enemy must be destroyed.

It’s that very mentality that leads to the worse outcome of the peak of “we”. Civil war. Societal collapse. The destruction of a nation.

What would happen if we instead focused more on what we’re for rather than against?

???? What if we loved our neighbour? Regardless of their skin color, history, financial situation, or belief system? What if we gave the effort and spent the time to really care for the strangers in our communities. How would that change racism?

???? What if we stopped pushing our ideals on what the roles of the different sexes should be on others? Congratulate women for achieving her career goals while also supporting the women who wanted to focus on their families over a career?

???? What if we understood that slavery is caused by a love of money and power. That all races have been enslaved in the past, and will be again in the future unless we keep an eye out for those in high positions with power and money?

???? What if we understood that all life is valuable? That we all want to inhabit the earth and not destroy it. What if we looked past this narrative and actually came up with solutions that didn’t cause more damage than the damage we’re trying to avoid?

Look. I don’t have all the answers. Neither do the authors of “The Pendulum” book.

But like them, I can now see the “we’re against…” mental state that leads to war both globally and locally.

You and I cannot control what these people are doing that is causing mass genocide.

But we can control what’s in and around us.

We can embrace simple biblical principles that make the world a better place.

We can follow the 10 commandments and know that everything in those laws is for us, and not against us. That the very things on those tablets were designed to create a society that thrives in unity and is pleasing to God.

Following those laws won’t save our souls. But our desire to truly understand them and their purpose will help us navigate the peak of “we”, lift our heads above the narratives, and show people, there is much more to life than what you’re against. If the majority followed the laws of Moses, the impact of the peak of “we” would be minimal, avoiding huge conflict.