Culture Change is Possible Through Weavers
A column in The New York Times is devoted to those who are combating social isolation, at a local level: community builders, weaving the social fabric.
They are "weavers," who according to Times columnist, David Brooks, are "a movement that doesn't know it's a movement."
According to Brooks, after decades of hyperindividualism, "weavers share an ethos that puts relationship over self. We are born into relationships, and the measure of our life is in the quality of our relationships. We precedes me."
Brooks writes that "if you can change the culture, you can change behavior on a large scale." Then a shift in culture, so that it emphasizes individualism less and relationalism more, can happen.
He writes,
Culture changes when a small group of people, often on the margins of society, find a better way to live, and other people begin to copy them. These Weavers have found a better way to live. We at Weave — and all of us — need to illuminate their example, synthesize their values so we understand what it means to be a relationalist and not an individualist. We need to create hubs where these decentralized networks can come together for solidarity and support. We need to create a shared Weaver identity.
Brooks then vouches for the importance of becoming a weaver instead of a ripper: "Every time you assault and stereotype a person, you’ve ripped the social fabric. Every time you see that person deeply and make him or her feel known, you’ve woven it."
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