Everythings going to be alright . . .right?

There is a notion that as we grow older, we humans lose some of our virtuous values. We often hear that our behaviors and actions will take the world into darkness, and although it would be too depressing to succumb to that conversation, I can see where it is coming from. The media loves to develop headlines that instigate insecurity and controversy; a pastor threats to burn the Koran, France “gently” gives Romanians one way tickets to their country of origin, tea parties and hate campaigns gain momentum, all of these recent stories might make one think that we are inevitably going to end up living in a very divided world, where distrust and suspicion rule.

It may seem that I am looking at the glass half full, but as someone who grew up watching movies and hearing stories that made the ‘old days’, seem a far less hospitable place than today, I think we are actually kinder than our ancestors- looking direct on my line, I see Portuguese and Spaniards conquering the new world by, in many instances, wiping out whole civilizations in the most atrocious and repugnant ways. But you don’t need to look far into the past to notice a positive change in values. Not too long ago people were much more racist and judgmental. We can see in elder generations the remains of a society built on different tolerance levels and a much different take on what is right and wrong; think of a teacher being sanctioned to use a leather belt to punish a child for bad grades!

There are of course many people that are still capable of committing atrocities, but I do feel that as a society the large majority of people are repelled and disgusted by such behaviors. We have become kinder, and able to relate to people that are not necessarily “like us”. Never again, we are going to agree that it is ok to enslave people or physically hurt a child. There may be lots of things that older generations can find to criticize their younger counterparts, but with each new generation that enters the world, we become more open minded and accepting of others.

What many may label as wishful thinking on my part, was revived and fortified by watching an RSA video:

The implications of something like this are endless, giving us hope that a more ethical and moral lifestyle is a lot more than a marketing trend.

We can see further evidence that we may be heading to a more compassionate and peaceful place when we observe teens around the globe and their openness and desire to reject formal social groups that they feel suffocate or restrict their freedom. Their increasing non-judgmental attitude makes me think that they will take us in to a much more compassionate future. (see our WOT study @ http://www.windowonteens.com/).

For brands this could mean it’s time to forget trying to help people fit in and build constricting identities (ie. You are a Mac or a PC). Instead it is time to accept that groups, tribes and identities can and will overlap at a growing rate to the point they will become pointless. After all, there is a growing empathy that makes us more alike than different, and that is at a growing rate not based on one single affiliation