One of my favorite words in the English language, iconoclast, actually derives from Greek: eikon--image + klastes--breaker. In the early days the word referred to someone who destroyed religious sculptures and paintings. An iconoclast today is a bold thinker who attacks settled beliefs or institutions. In short, a rebel who recognizes when change needs to occur for the greater good.
Ah, change. It isn't easy for any of us, especially if we are devoted to the status quo. Even if we believe in change that would grant growth, justice and fairness for the nation as a whole, we still fear the concomitant problems that could arise from it. In particular, we fear our place in society that might change, along with long-held beliefs. Our country is traversing that ground right now as we remove images of the Confederacy.
And we're not alone. This country was founded on altering the status quo of British citizens colonizing America. We will never cease to remember that on November 19, 1863 iconoclast Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address reminded us that change would be the only way to keep the nation together. In the early 1900s iconoclasts like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony paved the way for voting rights for women. In 1869 Dr. Susan Smith McKinney Steward became the first female physician in New York, a pioneer who helped to found the Equal Suffrage League in Brooklyn. Skip over to 1854 when Elizabeth Jennings predated Rosa Parks (1955) when she refused to dismount a streetcar.
And let's not forget the generation that led the Civil Rights movement, the protests against the Viet Nam War, the ongoing fight for immigrants' rights, the Native American fight for environmental and economic justice--most recently the Dakota Access Pipeline that threatened not only their water supply but also ancient sacred grounds. Stronger than ever now are the Me,Too movement for justice for women sexually abused, the LGBTQ movement for the right to be who you are, to love whomever you choose, and the Black Lives Matter movement for racial justice in every arena of our lives.
Iconoclasts of the 60s and 70s rebelled against the establishment. Evidence of it in the Civil Rights and Viet Nam eras could be seen in the music, art, fashion, and in behavior that focused on protests and love fests. I was a teenager then, and I loved this movement, wanted to be part of it.
"I think it's time we stop, children, watch that sound, everybody look what's goin' down....Young people speaking their minds, gettin' so much resistance from behind." Thank you, Buffalo Springfield. Rockers represented the youth at that time through rebel music, and how they did inspire a whole generation!
But, do you think it was easy for these people to risk everything for what they believed was right? Although in times of conflict we may feel uncomfortable or threatened, years down the road when the dust has settled, we do accept change as it slowly becomes the new status quo. The road to change, however, is always paved with censure, disparaging scorn, and too often sacrifice and loss of life. The question is, who would risk so much to lead us to change, and why in the world would they do that? Iconoclasts would, and here's why.
Gregory Berns, professor of economics and distinguished chair of neuroeconomics at Emory University, has an interesting answer to that question. "Iconoclasts are individuals who do things that others say can't be done." Berns says that iconoclasts see things differently from other people; they're skilled at handling failure, especially fear of the unknown. They don't wait around for someone else to initiate necessary changes. They jump right in.
We all know the majority of us don't jump right in, yet we need iconoclasts to keep us from clinging to destructive images and institutions that aren't working for us or for the nation as a whole. So, if most of us will never be one of those selfless, risk-taking iconoclasts, what part can we play?
Without analyzing the psychology behind our fears, what we actually can do is stay abreast of the news--both sides of it, and remember the US Constitution and Bill of Rights that guarantee life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all of us. Breaking images--symbols of what we believe represent each of us as individuals, can lead to a positive metamorphosis that brings more freedom and contentment than we've ever known. When we do something good for someone else, our old brains think we're doing it for ourselves. Never forget, We the People.
This is an excellent thought-provoking piece. We cannot accept change until we are willing to go to the core of our own thinking to consider why we feel threatened, but also we must ask ourselves over and over how the present serves us and what we will lose with change. Thank you, Susan, for putting into words so much of what is happening today.
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