To be completely
honest, this week, I struggled with the reading and did not make any immediate
connections that I thought would be interesting to blog about. It was difficult for me to understand the
biological connections that Burke was using in relation to organizational
change. However the concept of entropy
stood out to me. Entropy is “the universal law of nature in which all forms of
organization move towards disorganization or death” (Burke, pp. 58).
The concept of
entropy, I believe struck a chord with me as I thought about the United States
in the late 1950’s and 1960’s. The stage
was set and a historical period of non-violent protests brought national
attention to the blatant mistreatment and oppression of African Americans. As well the Jim Crow laws that had come
to dominate society would no longer be accepted. It was time for the United States to make a
systemic change and deal with the energy of injustice that had came to dominate
the nation.
 |
| Freedom Riders |
Although, many
people credit Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as the main change agent, he stood as
the visible face of the thousands of young and old people that marched,
participated in sit-ins, became Freedom Riders,
endured beatings and even death.
 |
| Protesters |
So as I think about
those who became the Civil Rights Movement, I must reflect on how their lives, and
the movement impacts modern life. The question
that comes to mind is “Have we really
come that far?” Or are we at a turning
point again, in the process of entropy where the stage is again set and we are
heading towards disorganization? The
difference this time is not a clear, blatant system of oppression but a form of
microagressions and aftermath of oppression that continues to plague our
society. For instance, we no longer see lynchings
or colored only signs, and segregation was supposedly defeated by Brown v. Board of
Education in 1954. In spite of all
of this, there continues to be an achievement gap between white and black
children even with No Child Left Behind policies. Inner city schools struggle to provide
adequate education for low-income and underrepresented students. More African American males are heading to
prison than off to college. USA
Today reported that after the election of the first African American
president, hate crimes against Blacks increased.
So, how do we “fight”
and who will be the next social change agent to lead the "fight"?
This is an interesting comparison between entropy and civil rights that I had not considered before.
ReplyDeleteI think if we were to take a historical perspective Martin Luther King was the natural evolutionary change agent, even though we view him as revolutionary in our time. Much like the episodic evolution that we read about in Burke.
So, if entropy is disorganization, and civil rights is an evolutionary process, the next social change agent I predict will be adaptive. Someone who recognizes the current laws that exist, but have failed to rise above culture. Someone who is good at identifying the problems and inherently knows how to rally the troops. Indeed, the adaptive can dream.