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I have “picked” on the postmoderns a few times with posts about the “mean green meme.” Green, by the way, comes from the Spiral Dynamics folks, who named the various worldviews by different colors. Alas, traditional values are blue in the Spiral system – alas this color scheme clashes with the “red-blue” split, which would have red as traditional and blue as postmodern. Confused yet? We’ll take the colors out here and focus on the value types.
Any values type can turn unhealthy or “go rogue” or whatever you want to call it. Think of it that any values type has a range of outcomes. The healthy expression of postmodern is participation and self-expression; the unhealthy expression takes the various forms of political correctness. But there are also unhealthy expressions of traditional values. In the US we see the emergence of groups and movements in favor of an authoritarian regime that will get us back to the simpler times of the past. It’s a reaction to the complexity, uncertainty, and seeming chaos of the present. So, let’s go backwards, using an authoritarian approach to a simple time where the rules are clear and the roles are known — two key facets of traditional values. Those facets can be very good things, but they can also be very bad things, as we see with some of the groups on the extreme right.
The point is that there is not a “correct” set of values. Any set of values can be misapplied. It’s the intention behind them that is crucial. As I’ve said many times, a key hope of mine for the future is the emergence of integral values, not because those values are better, but because those holding integral values don’t believe their way is the right way. They see the value of all types, appreciates them all, and look for when to apply according to the particular context. I look forward to the day when we are not stuck and forced to pick sides. – Andy Hines
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