Is the personality of our nation changing?
Is the personality of our nation changing?
What makes identity? Is it the name, what you're called or known by others? Or what you wear, what you look like - how you're recognised? Or is it more fundamental - the actual experience someone has when they visit a nation, meet people and experience the combined character and behaviour of those who live there?Maybe a nations' identity is the total experience of history associated to its' name. What it looks like on good days through to bad and the deep beliefs that shape the personal expressions of those you meet in a location or place.
What if national identity is closely linked to personality and is definable like this - when personality is connected to people and place it becomes a strong national identity. So is the personality of our nation changing?
Everything adapts, everything changes - look at nature, the way it cycles and progresses. Change is all around us. We have to embrace life to survive and be flexible to learn and adapt. But what about the things we can't see that often determine our behaviours, our feelings which effect our actions. The unchanging truths we believe inside our national hearts and minds, isn’t that what really matters? And deeper still, the absolutes we believe in which anchor us in times of challenge and uncertainty as a group of people – family, faith, friendship.
There's so much that makes us us. So many things that could cause us to feel this way or that, to act one way or the other. Today in 2016 our nation and the nations feel uncertain. It feels like people are making different decisions from north to south and east to west. It could feel that the results of these decisions are out of character with what some believe whilst others believe we are returning to something we lost in the nations personality.
We feel confused as a group of people. As a nation there is a disconnect between our national personality, the people that live here and the place. Much is being challenged in terms of the people and the place. How should we, the people, go about finding our place in the world?
Who will you meet today? Will you smile and will they? Will you experience tolerance, hope, good conversation, openness and understanding? Will most people go about their day trying to do the right thing? Maybe on the whole, the answer is still yes? We still live in a nation that shares deep common values and beliefs. Maybe it's harder than people think to change our nations' identity, our personality? Maybe we will keep on being a nation of people that is friendly, welcoming and hospitable. And that politics aside, we are known as a place that people do want to get to know and build a friendship with.
With all the change that is happening in 2016 the personality of our nation is being challenged but maybe not changed. Will we dig deep, remain warm hearted, generous spirited and with a creative outlook, continue to play our part in the nations of the world?
