Corporate Culture and the death of idealism?

After several days of reading and watching the great things that are happening in the Brazilian  social fabric, I came ever-inspired to work with great anticipation of what will be discussed as the Brazilian team was playing today. “Obviously, people will be enraged and boycott the game, preparing for tomorrow’s mass demonstrations”, I was thinking to myself.

To my great shock, the first colleague to arrive, expressed her extreme disappointment that tomorrow’s demonstration is still on, complaining that it will interfere with her commute and criticizing those “silly people that are just protesting over a 20 cent bus increase”. Hmm.. I thought to myself, perhaps she is just a special case, as she is stressed out about work and family at the moment, and cannot focus on bigger issues.

During lunch, I tried again with two other male colleagues – the first was not interested, and the second was complaining about how people in Belo Horizonte  (another city) are protesting even though they didn’t even have a bus fair increase there. Everyone just kept reducing the protests to the fact that people don’t have a unique voice and that they are using this situation to complain about all sorts of problems. They even compared this to the Egyptian revolution and said how here it’s so much inferior because in Egypt there was a clear purpose and resolution (which is complete nonsense). 

I realized that people who are normally quite intelligent and are paid to see the big picture in business are failing to see the big picture in the world around them. I think that the sense of financial security that their job gives them shuts off their moral common sense. It’s a new kind of anomaly I have (re)discovered. Feeling disillusioned. Need to write the next Great Gatsby.

The new generation in Brazil

I ran into the following video that was made a couple of years ago about the dreams of the Brazilian youth. I think that it’s a very interesting reflection and insight into what is currently happening with the protests in Brazil.
In general, my perception is that the new generation is much more curious and open minded but they lack a lot of base and skills to internalize the world around them and build upon it. The older generation is very conservative and risk-averse, which makes it hard for the young ones to grow their ideas and flourish.

The Brazilians are opening their eyes and going into the streets

Protests in Rio

Protests in Sao Paulo

Protests in Rio

Protests in Rio

Protests in Rio

Protests in Rio

Photography calls to action – Sebastião Salgado @ Jardim Botanico

To balance a bit my social / business revolutionary activities, I headed over to the Jardim Botanico to see a wonderful photography exhibition which is actually aimed at calling attention to nature’s beauty and the need to protect it, especially this day and age.

I promise that one day I will have a decent camera on my phone so that I could take adequate pictures. Until then, the below should suffice.

\

Revolution in Pictures – Brazil

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Here are a couple of images I found floating around that highlight some of the critical points about the current situation in Brazil.

The Confederations Cup

Dilma was booed at the Confederations Cup over the hypocracy of the government, trying to window dress the country for the foreigners while the truth is that many things are going down the drains. In the image above to the left she is discontent, saying that the people are uneducated. On the right side we see how absurd that is because  it’s actually the fault of her government that is not investing in education and instead wasting the country’s resources and feeding the masses with soccer games and soap operas to keep them happy.

The Reasons for the Protests

Many news outlets are showing only a limited version of the truth. The image above is showing that the cost of bus fares is just a little drop in the sea of issues Brazil faces such as: violence, corruption, lack of education, inflation, neglect, etc.

It’s interesting to see how people from all walks of life are starting to get together suddenly and at least talk about the issues with one voice. I see changes ahead.