A Note From our Publishers – Dec. 2020

Opening Eyes

2020 has been a year of physical isolation for most of the world. Working and staying at home have become necessary to slow down a rampant virus. Isolation, though, can lead to its own problems—and without access to
others in community, many of us turn to virtual sources for our human connection.

Not surprisingly, online sources report screen time has nearly doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we are learning, though, our internet browsers feed us links based on our past preferences, so we can end up wearing blinders regarding the world at large. Blinders serve a purpose for horses, but not so much for people. Blinders control the wearer’s point of view and keep their eyes focused straight ahead. It is helpful for carriage horses to avoid scares by traffic, but that doesn’t work well in society. If we only see what is right in front of us, we suffer from tunnel vision. We might only be seeing 10 percent of the world at large.

One way to counter horse blinders in isolation is to reach out and explore other points of view. Businesses started making this a practice with reverse mentoring after realizing that top-down mentoring isn’t the full answer. They learned that employees and senior executives can benefit from mentors in the younger generation. But how can reverse mentoring work in isolation?

We propose that we all practice reverse mentoring with Giving Voice. Today’s young people are actively speaking about the environment, social justice, and equity, and they have something to teach us all. The vision of Giving Voice is to bring us closer together by understanding different points of view. Please join us in taking off the blinders and seeing the world in a new light. You may be surprised to find out how expansive the future is.

Doug and Eileen Leunig
Big Picture Initiative