“My glorious generation will be known as ‘Time of Waterfalls, Magic Peaches and Falling Golden Plum Petals.’ We will reign to eternity.”
~Pete Confucius, Shanghai Gardens, 575 BC
VIM Executive Coaching will, here and now, dispel any historical debate. There were no ancient philosophers named Pete Confucius, nor were there magic peaches or gold plum petals. Confucius never said his generation was the best, or that “it rocked,” or it was “da bomb.”
We doubt Confucius ever set his slippered foot in Shanghai. If he did, it certainly wasn’t named Shanghai Gardens at the time. By the way, we doubt if the ancient scholar ever wrote his generation was better, or worse, than any other. However, it does bring up our main point.
Of righteousness
Let us roll-back the humor for now, and look at what we might call “Generational Righteousness.” Not surprising, the term has been widely used by biblical scholars, historians and liberally claimed on social media.
Generational righteousness is normally defined as: “… the righteous actions and faithfulness of one generation can influence and bless subsequent generations.”
The biblical and historical contexts of generational righteousness are seen as positive. It talks to empowerment, history, laws and culture. The righteous actions of one generation have indeed, influenced others in other generations.
In our own country, we can recall righteous names such as Rosa Parks or Roberto Clemente or Jonas Salk or Abraham Lincoln as positively influencing later generations. We have been inspired and elevated by those of past generations.
However, we must also note the third category of generational righteousness bandied by the so-called influencers and experts we witness most every day on social media. They, in turn, create a ripple effect that seeps into popular culture. The effect is hardly positive or inspirational and contaminates much of modern thinking and interaction.
In the often digital, electronic or in-person arena, generational righteousness has frequently been replaced by generational arrogance.
“We” pit Boomers against Gen-X, against Millennials, against Gen-Z with reckless finger pointing. If you partake in any social media activity at all, you will readily understand what we are saying. If you listen to many workplace conversations, generational judgment is more than sarcasm but can lead to lots of hurt feelings, finger-pointing, anger and even job actions.
Who is the most righteous?
This runaway, generational, claim-to-fame stuff is not very amusing, especially when it pertains to work groups, employee interactions, communication, human resources issues, workplace gender issues, equity or in the rejection of the most basic of all Confucius-like teachings: fairness, morality, the breaking down of barriers and better ethical governance.
Employees are increasingly becoming more separate, those in organizations are often sticking to their “own kind,” dependent on the amount of gray hair they might or might not possess.
Don’t believe us? Please look at the sheer number of courses offered on inter-generational communication. Everyone acknowledges the problem and a thousand or more solutions have been offered. It would stagger a Confucius on his best day.
We would submit that the number of courses, dissertations, papers and motivational speakers yammering-away about the betterment of intergenerational communication are all trying to get to the same place and saying the same things. Companies are spending tens of millions of dollars on intergenerational communications programs that re-hash the same recipe for Chow Mein.
They are getting nowhere because they are not getting to the root cause.
We neither speak Chinese nor would hazard a guess as to how Confucius might say it, but to wildly plant a Confucian flag on the topic, the response of the ancient scholar might be: “For starters, guys, why don’t all you self-righteous son-of-a-guns try being more mindful of one another?”
Mindfulness requires listening, observing, reflecting, respecting, judiciously planning and being in the moment. True point: scholars note that when Confucius himself tried to talk sense to those who sought his advice – and they didn’t listen – he often walked away from them. He had no time for those who were inflexible to change.
For Confucius was not a person to waste time with inauthentic people who spoke at each other, rather than to each other.
Different generations might have thousands of pieces of slang and technologies at their fingertips, but if they fail to be mindful of one another, they are more lost than Marco Polo on a failed voyage to China.
No generation can claim to be the most righteous. There is only the quiet Confucian goal of being authentic in all things and respecting others who strive for the same ideal. Mindfulness can – and will – solve generational arrogance and return all of us to generational righteousness.
