Change Agents, Don’t Be Fooled

“You will always be on the margins because all you have are these idealistic notions that don’t apply.” 

That’s the fictional CEO in Amazon’s Enlightened, chewing out whistleblower Amy, played by Laura Dern.

“Well if caring about something other than money is dopey, I’m a fuckin’ moron.”

Amy started the series as an angry, ruthless career-climber. She ends it finding inner peace (and not coincidentally a good cup of coffee).

Her mother is proud of her as well.

As we all know, it is very, very hard to make a difference in real life.

Part of that is because we are just so busy surviving. But conformity is also drilled into us from birth. And those who dare to speak up get subtly and overtly told stop from every angle. (Screenshot: Sign for sale at Ozark Saddle Company.)

It is easy to be fooled by all these naysayers. They do after all take many different forms, are voiced by people both friendly and decidedly not.

The dialogue on Enlightened sounded so eerily like it could have been real life:

• “You are a mental case for pursuing this.”
• “We are going to crush you like an ant.
• “How selfish / ungrateful can you be? This company took care of you.”
• “Now who’s gonna pay your bills?”
• “You are destroying your own life.”

I hope we get to see more of this character, this show. It reminds me of Daughtry’s hopeful and great music video for “What About Now,” which already has more than 10,000,000 shares:

We need more clear-eyed thinking about right and wrong in this world. People who do the right thing no matter what the cost to themselves.

The people who put this show together have a firmer grasp on that imperative than most.

Dannielle Blumenthal is a seasoned communications professional with nearly two decades of progressive, varied experience in the public sector, private sector, and academia. Currently she is a public servant, as well as an independent freelance writer. This blog, like all of her public content, is written in her personal capacity unless otherwise noted. It does not reflect the views of the U.S. government, in whole or in part. Photo credit: Evan Long via Flickr