Since Barack Obama's election to the US presidency, “change” has become a buzz word. It was not exactly clear what he meant by change. However, people simply cheered the abstract concept of change, assuming that it incorporated some of their needs. Besides, it is natural for people to link with the concept of change because it has always been a part of the natural processes. Change connotes being different from what was. Sometimes it serves a goal and sometimes it becomes the goal itself. Both ways, change is destabilizing. However, all kinds of changes, like the changes in nature, have stabilizing aspects. So it is important to make sure that destabilization does not turn into a meaningless chaos. People are born, they become children, then young adults, get older and eventually become weak and die. Days and nights rotate as do seasons. Similarly, trees shed leaves, then grow new leaves but all of this change occurs in repetitive, predictable cycles that give a sense of stability. As in yin and yang, stability is the other side of change and it is essential for change to be well defined and the direction in which it should go. Strong trees sway with the wind but they cannot stand the wind's strength it if they are not firmly rooted in the ground. If a tree is not rooted well, the wind will pluck it, toss it around and God knows where it would end. It may simply wither and die. Change is usually required in two cases: When there is not enough luxury to drive people to a quest for the ideal or when conditions are unbearable to move people to get out of that condition. In both cases, people throw caution to the wind and defy the middle condition - what is safer and familiar known as stability. Therefore, is change a value in itself or is it defined by what it accomplishes, the purposes behind it and the tools used to achieve it? Is change always an improvement or does it lead to something else like a downslide? Such questions have to be raised before hand when we call for change and should not come as an afterthought. It is important, as much as possible, to figure out the direction of change and what it could bring ahead. Let us go back to the American elections. Why is there a quest for change in the United States? Who are calling for change and who want to maintain the status quo? I assume that people who cheer change have certain needs and think that the envisioned change would fulfill their needs. This is also true of the politicians who ride on the slogan of change to win the election. But because they do not spell out what change they wanted to achieve, many people become disappointed and disillusioned after the election when they do not see the change they had expected to come. - The author can be reached at khadijah_ [email protected] __
