How Do We Shift Our Perspective?

If you’re American and have ever had the chance to travel to some of the poorest parts of the world, chances are that you returned home a different person. Common to this experience are feelings of anger, helplessness, guilt, and disorientation. Coming face to face with the injustice of malnourished children, terrible health conditions, and limited opportunities for a better life forces one previously unexposed to wrestle with their own worldview and privilege. 

At the same time, I’ve witnessed those same travelers (and have been that traveler), with righteous indignation, return home committed to change the world, yet remain unable or unwilling to cross the tracks to see the injustices taking place in their own backyard. 

I’ve been involved in the work of poverty alleviation for over twenty years and I’ve watched countless people fall into paralysis as they become enlightened to the complexities of poverty. Poverty IS complex and overwhelming and those of us not having to personally deal with the lived realities of poverty have the option of checking out. Our muscles are weak and we have no stamina to withstand the new tensions we are feeling as we become aware. 

A similar trajectory can take place when confronting racial injustice in the United States if you are part of the majority culture. Being white and isolated in America means that you may not be faced with having to lean into racial tension on a regular basis, if ever. Then, a viral video of the horrific murder of George Floyd unleashes a broad and collective outcry, and you are overcome with emotion. These incidents are neither new nor rare, however, racial tension has entered your world and you must decide what to do about it.  

So one question I’ve been pondering is, how do we shift our thinking and actions? 

I’ve been intrigued by the volume of posts and engagements on social media, attempting to make a statement and to convince others to change. Some are memes, offering a visual to explain a concept or position. Some are stories and videos of people sharing the discrimination and mistreatment that they have faced. Others are facts and statistics, attempting to unpack the systemic perpetuation of racism in America. 

But the truth is that we don’t change our minds through facts. A former Harvard economist once wrote, “Faced with a choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy with the proof.”  

The reality is that we are relational creatures that think, grow, act, or stay stuck within the context of our tribes. 

A common theme in Think Tank’s theory of change when it comes to poverty alleviation and injustice is that in order to address the walls of difference that keep us stuck, we must strike the distance that keeps us apart. If we are to make progress in the war against the original sin of our country, then in each of our hearts and lives we must confront the distance.

This is no small order and I believe it requires supernatural intervention. Whether this becomes the page-turning moment in our nation, history will tell that story. 

This could, however, be your moment to change the course of history for your family. Do you find yourself isolated from people of different economic, racial, or ethnic groups? What can you do to expand your circle?

Marlo Fox is the Executive Director of Think Tank. To learn more about Think Tank’s work, visit thinktank-inc.org.