“All of this (current world situation) is very familiar to anybody who's lived in a country that has experienced the takeover by a… we used to call them Big Men in Africa.
“There was this post-colonial, post-liberation period when these figures, very Trump-like figures, came in. And it served a purpose, which was to give people a sense of comfort that in this rapidly changing world they (The Big Men) would control it and turn things back to the way they'd always been. So in Zimbabwe, you know, very similar rhetoric, very similar playbook.
“It's interesting to be in Africa as all this happens, because there's a there's a little bit of a sense of relief. You know, everybody used to say, ‘Oh, this continent was a basket case. And how does it always elect these terrible people? And why do people not do better in terms of resisting it?’ And people here, now, are sort of saying, ‘You see, it happens.’ And, unfortunately, once it happens, it’s very hard to undo it.”— Jillian Reilly
In this interview Jillian and I introduce ourselves and what we’re working on. Me on issues of facilitating personal change and how people’s thinking is shaped by groups. Jillian on social change and how group thinking is held back or moved forward by the thinking of individuals.
The Ten Permissions is scheduled for release in September of 2025 and can be preordered on Amazon.
Vain Aid: Jillian Reilly at TEDxCapeTownThe Ten Permissions, with Jillian Reilly (YouTube)https://www.australasianchangedays.com/project/jill-reilly/thetenpermissions (Instagram)