Social Constructionism (3)



We are living in a transition period. For those of us who live in America, think about the deep changes that have taken place in the last decade. Some of these changes are specific to Americans, but often they represent changes experienced across the globe. We may be surprised to be reminded of the following:

  • In 2000, California approved Proposition 22 which restricted marriage to one man and one woman. This passed by 61% of voters supporting the bill! Even the majority in Los Angeles county approved the measure. Would they do the same in 2017?
  • In 1960, over 70% of Americans identified themselves as Protestant Christians. In 2000, it dropped to 52%. Today, only 37% of Americans identify as a Protestant Christian. (Gallup poll)
  • Throughout human history, mothers were the primary care givers of their children. Today, mothers are the sole or primary breadwinner in 40% of American families with children under age 18. Someone else is raising their children. Of course, this percentage is greatly influenced by the fact that many families are single parent homes. (Pew Research Center)
  • A few decades ago, robots and their artificial intelligence was a conspiracy theory for the science fiction world to muse on. Per Pew Research, all the experts they interviewed in their research predicted robots and artificial intelligence will pervade almost every aspect of our lives by 2025. There will be a disruption to our current occupation practices.
  • Less than a decade ago, homes used to be children’s sanctuary from the pressures of school, work and society. With the emergence of smartphones and tablets, it has quickly become their command center.

I could list more, but I don’t think I need to. An aware person understands they are living through a period of profound changes. In fact, social change seems to be a normalized characteristic of life. Change isn’t unexpected; rather, we’ve built our lives around its continual presence. These statistics and anecdotes not only highlight changes that have taken place over a relatively short period, but they highlight deep changes. They impact our heart, mind and soul in powerful ways. They are just small evidences of a great alteration in the social and moral fabric of America and abroad.

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