Change and Challenge 193forced into service of the old idea and will not work as in-
tended.
Blame does have some useful function: it channels feel-
ings. When we blame someone it gives us a release for our
anger and frustrations. Systems do not have feelings, but
people do, and blaming individuals and getting angry with
them at least offers an outlet for those feelings. I was angry
with the computer supply firm for making a mess of my
order. I lost time. I felt aggrieved. This shouldn’t have hap-
pened! The feelings of everyone were very real. How do you
deal with these feelings? Systems thinking is fine, but there is
also systems feeling.
You may not be able to blame anyone in the system, but
that does not mean that no one is responsible. Here is the
paradox. People may be doing the best they can given the
system they are in, but they may still make mistakes, and you
may be seriously hurt or inconvenienced by their mistakes or
the way the system operates. Seeing how systems work does
not excuse or condone injustice and suffering, poor prac-
tice, inefficiency or complacency, and the feelings these
evoke in us are authentic and important. Whether we find
ourselves part of such systems or on the receiving end of
them, when we understand how they operate, we have a
choice of what to do and more possibilities for change. Also,
understanding how systems work saves us from some of life’s
petty annoyances.
People in a system are still responsible for doing the best
they can to make it work as well as possible if it is a just one
and to change it if it is an unjust one. Leaders do feel
strongly, sometimes strongly enough to challenge govern-
ments. They hold people responsible and they accept
responsibility themselves for their part in the system.
My friend’s daughter was bullied by a classmate at primary
school. She became afraid to go to school. My friend and his
wife went several times to complain to the class teacher and
to the head teacher, but despite this, the bullying continued
in covert ways. My friend became very angry. His main feel-
ing and responsibility was as a parent to his young daughter.