NICK WRIGHT
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Stance

29/1/2022

14 Comments

 
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At a time when geopolitical tensions between NATO-EU and Russia are on the increase and depicted starkly as such in the media, I showed a video of a Russian 'hell march' to an international group and asked them: a. What do you notice; b. How do you feel; c. What does it mean? It opened a deep conversation that emphasised the need for critical reflexivity in interpreting experiences and events.

A Chinese participant looked quite disdainful and said it reminded her of similar 'propaganda parades' in her home country, designed to make people feel compliant and positive about the Communist party state. A German participant said it filled her with fear, evoking stories she had heard from elderly family members about horrors under Soviet occupation at the end of the Second World War.

A UK participant, perhaps with the spirit of Brexit still reverberating fresh in the background, said she found the enforced uniformity and conformity disturbing. A Filipina participant from an Hispanic cultural background, who had lived under a repressive military dictatorship, said she liked how the soldiers were as-if dancing to a rhythm and doing something constructive that displayed positive talent.

I noticed banners in the background depicting 1941, the year in which the Nazis had unleashed a war in the East that resulted in unspeakable terror and devastation. As a passionate anti-Nazi, I saw the march as an assertive symbol: a 'never-again'. We reflected on our different selective perceptions, feelings and interpretations and the profound influence of ourselves-as-filters as we look out onto the world.

In a similar vein, at a Gestalt coaching training workshop last week, I posted an image on screen of a tree in wheat field with dark clouds looming overhead. I asked the group what they would notice in 3 imagined scenarios: 1. As a child, you loved to climb trees; 2. You are walking the countryside and have forgotten to bring a raincoat; 3. You and your family have had no food to eat for a week.

We noticed that we notice what matters to us in the moment. Different people-groups may notice different things in the same situation, or the same person-group may notice different things in the same situation at different times. We attribute meaning based on our beliefs, values, hopes, fears and expectations. This includes personal and shared-cultural memories, emotions and imaginations.

As we move ahead this year, I pray that I-we will do so with eyes wide open. What may appear to us as self-evident, real and true may reveal as much about us as who or what we observe: if we are willing to see it. What can we do to create greater critical reflexivity? How can we address blind spots and hot spots to open up fresh possibilities, address risks – and take a stance that is sound?
14 Comments
Alex
30/1/2022 10:19:20 am

Thanks Nick
If only ‘our’ stories didn’t seem to us to be ‘the’ story! If only as humans we didn’t crave certainty, and believe we’ve found it when we tie a little bow on our conclusions and judgements. If only judgements weren’t easier than thinking and reflecting. If only we noticed more often the limits on the usefulness of our favourite views!

Reply
Nick Wright
30/1/2022 01:25:35 pm

Thank you, Alex. I think you expressed that so well. It resonates with this short piece that you may find interesting? https://www.nick-wright.com/art-of-deception.html

Reply
Arman
30/1/2022 08:10:16 pm

Thanks nick for interesting view on your text and your blog, I learn many things.
Media have a big impact on our view. You put a "helmet marach" video link and as we can see from text any person from different part of the world have a different idea about it. Media impact on their view or historical tragedy directly impact on there view. In my opinion do not important west or east, Every regime lookafter to their profits! power is very complicated subject. Basically power for everybody have gravity, doesn't matter this person is Donald Trump or Vladimir putin! In the east try to keep satisfying people by dictatorship power, in the west control their people by using propaganda. The important point is by starting war in any part of the world just civilian and poor people are looser!
Sorry if I have grammar mistakes in my text😀

Reply
Nick Wright
30/1/2022 08:48:03 pm

Hi Arman. Thank you for your encouraging feedback and for sharing such thoughtful reflections. Yes - I agree. Our view of the world, especially that which lays outside of our direct experience, is often mediated via the media.

I had an interesting conversation with a group of students in Germany on this theme last year. We looked at how the media presents a combination of information-sharing, dramatising-for-entertainment and bias-propaganda.

This means we must always view the media through critical eyes - seeking to discern 'reality' and 'truth' - and always to be aware (as far as we can be) of the media's vested interests in presenting any issue in the way it does.

You may find this short related piece interesting? https://www.nick-wright.com/art-of-deception.html

Reply
Daz Mendoza
31/1/2022 07:10:39 am

Hi Nick. These are my reflections when I watched the video:

1- A well drilled force, many hours on the parade ground to achieve this.

2 - How many of these young lads will have their lives cut short if they invade Ukraine?

3- It means look at us, look at how strong and well trained we are. Don't even think about invading our country again. We are well capable of defending ourselves.

Reply
Nick Wright
3/2/2022 01:58:15 pm

Hi Daz - and thank you for sharing your reflections.

Reply
Adrian Spurrell
31/1/2022 12:31:55 pm

This reminds me of Humes perspective that we see the the world through the assumptions we are using to make sense of it; and that when we engage with others we have to explore and share our assumptions about the world before we can come to any level of mutual understanding.
Its so ironic in an age when there are so many truths being postulated on the internet that people cling ever harder to the one they already believe. Comfort perhaps in the face of the overwhelming level of challenge that many of us encounter when trying to navigate our way in the world.
a

Reply
Nick Wright
6/2/2022 09:19:31 am

Hi Adrian. Yes, that perspective resonates well with that of Anaïs Nin - who is said to have said, ‘We don’t see things as they are but as we are.’

I agree that the multiple 'truths' phenomenon is an interesting and important one - and perhaps driving some confused and anxious people to seek greater simplicity and sense of certainty.

A risk I see on the global stage is that it can create and increase support for simplistic fundamentalism in all its forms, e.g. nationalism; racism; religious extremism.

Reply
David Moorse
31/1/2022 06:37:43 pm

Hi Nick. I watched the video:
1. Noticed … some things don’t change.
2. Felt … deflated.
3. Means … there’s still a way to go before John Lennon’s “imagine” materialises!

Reply
Nick Wright
3/2/2022 01:59:11 pm

Hi David - and thank you for sharing your reflections. It's so interesting so see and hear different people's reactions to the same video.

Reply
Sandra Long
1/2/2022 06:41:36 am

An interesting blog. When I watched the video, these were my responses:

1. The precision. The youth of so many of the participants. The militarism - definitely heightened by the nature and insistent beat of the music. The shot of the figure of Putin receiving all those salutes inevitably giving rise to comparisons with pre-war parades in front of Hitler.

2. A frisson of fear because this is the proud display of the war machine of a country which considers that we are an enemy; though this feeling was very transitory. Annoyance because of the feeling of being momentarily manipulated when viewing the clip.An awareness that if this were a display of British military forces in a parade past the Queen, in London, with very different music, I would have a completely different reaction to it. A feeling of great concern about what it must do to the soul of the man to be on the receiving end of this.

3. Meaning? It shows that Putin wants Russians to feel pride and national identity, and he wants other countries to consider that Russia is a force to be reckoned with. But I don't think this is anything new. This is always the case with such military parades.

Reply
Nick Wright
3/2/2022 01:59:59 pm

Hi Sandra - and thank you for sharing such fascinating reflections and responses!

Reply
Elise Van Vessem
3/2/2022 10:13:15 pm

Hi Nick. I watched the video too:

1) awesome precision and incredibly sexy!
2) I would have preferred horses to tanks.
3) The Russians do pomp and pageantry as well as the Brits.

Reply
Nick Wright
6/2/2022 09:20:18 am

Hi Elise. Well - that definitely brought a different perspective and dimension to the conversation..! :)

Reply



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    ​Nick Wright

    ​I'm a psychological coach, trainer and OD consultant. Curious to discover how can I help you? ​Get in touch!

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