chapter five
Groundbreakers and Trailblazers: That’s You!

Because abuse of rank is so commonplace, people are often unaware that their behavior is rankist; even people who are targets of it may not recognize it as rankism. Most of us are so used to people routinely abusing their rank that we consider it “normal” behavior.

It can therefore be helpful to recognize that those who speak up or take action to address rankism are trailblazers at the leading edge of change. If you are reading this book, you are probably a trailblazer, too; and so you may run into obstacles when you try to un-do rankism in different areas of your life. You may find that some people are not receptive to the ideas expressed here. They may dismiss the entire idea of rankism, try to sidetrack the discussion into a debate about rank, or get defensive when you speak up or take action. They may even retaliate. All of that is normal at the beginning of any change in human consciousness.

When Galileo asserted that the earth revolves around the sun and not vice versa, he was put under house arrest. For a long time afterward, those who accepted the idea were subject to various forms of rankism, including silencing or simple ridicule. In South Africa, as the movement to end apartheid began, it was extremely dangerous to speak out against it. During the American civil rights movement, people risked their lives if they advocated against racism. Many sacrificed their freedom and their lives so that future generations could live in a world free of discrimination or oppression based on skin color.

You take risks, even in the current era, whenever you speak with an awareness that goes beyond the current collective understanding. You may make sacrifices so that future generations will be able to live in a world free of discrimination or oppression based on rank.

We say this both as a cautionary note and so you won’t become discouraged as you take steps to end rankism. It may take time, but a collective shift of understanding about dignity and rankism will take place eventually, because rankism is not an adaptive behavior for a species that has the technological capacity to destroy itself. (For example, everyday rankism by managers in organizations can silence voices that would otherwise help avoid major technological disasters. [See Sidebar, Rankism in Organizations: Lessons from NASA.] And misusing one’s power over others, from personal interactions to global relations, tends to lead to retaliation, easily escalating rankist behavior to potentially dangerous levels.) As we humans, as a species, begin to understand the harmful consequences of allowing rankism in our world, we will learn to disallow it—and will teach our children to do the same.

KEY POINTS:

• Creating a dignitarian society is pioneering work; those who speak up for dignity are trailblazers.
• It is normal for trailblazers to run into obstacles.
• It may take time, but the world will become more dignitarian eventually, because rankism is not an adaptive behavior for a species that has the technological capacity to destroy itself.