It has been quite some time between my last essay and this one. There are a few reasons for the lag time, but most significantly, it was my fatigue in expressing myself in a time of so much unending chatter and political upheaval in this "trump era". I concluded that, with the elevation of old fashion lying and use of "alternative facts" as a way of exercising leadership and corrupting our culture, another voice in the wind really wasn't worth the effort. In addition there have been some significant changes in my life, with new and unexpected events and experiences. So, returning to this endeavor seems more fitting now. (I'll work in some of those life changes and experiences as I go along.) Lastly, I received some encouragements, and that always lends itself to new motivations- so, thank you. I hope I'm up to the challenge of making sense after two long winters of hibernation from this endeavor.
In considering how I would reintroduce myself to this blog page I realized that these last few months have been a time of great reflection and change for me, more so than any other time in my life. This reflection was brought on by the decision to stop my work life and enter into retirement from my career of nearly 44 years in human services. I knew it would be a huge transition as I have been doing some kind of work since I was sixteen years old. I thought it would be best to begin my planning early so I wasn't one of those guys who wakes up on day-one of retirement and says, "now what?" Thus my reflection began. This period of reflection got an additional shot of adrenalin a couple of months or so before my planned retirement when my wife was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Nothing quite like the Big C moving into your house to get you thinking about where you're going in life, and where your life has taken you so far. All of this has given me the time and space to think about life from a longer range perspective. Too often our American culture pressures us to think only in short bursts of time, memories, aspirations, plans and the dreams we had in our youth.
My coming of age took place in a most interesting time. My early adolescence and awakening to the world around me took place in the mid-'60's and early '70's. Young baby-boomers and those just older than me were creating change on a number of cultural fronts, and the age of technology was just beginning to blossom. Add to that a new generation of leaders "born in this century" as JFK told us, and offered up John F.Kennedy himself, Dr. King, and progressives in every corner and level of government and public life. It was all a person needed to set one's sights on the possibility of a brave new world. I was also the product of a liberal education- even though a Catholic school may not seem like a hotbed of liberal thought, it was the sixties. The Church was just coming out of Vatican II at that time, which liberalized a good deal of thought and practice in the American Catholic Church, with a hard lean toward social justice and away from pure dogma.
So with that as the backdrop, I imagined the world that would come from this turbulent time, and the immense energy for change that was rippling through our world. In my youthful thought processes I only envisioned a world that would move forward in progressive waves in every aspect. In some ways I was right about progress and improvements for us and the world. But in very important ways I was so very wrong in my long-range expectations of what the world would become. The following are a few of the visions from an adolescent boy.
During the 1960's this country became enthralled with science, mostly due the tremendous energy and enthusiasm for space flight and exploration. JFK challenged the country to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade-and we did. What a ride it was, as we watched our TV sets at each launch, each re-entry, each space walk, and each small step of progress to achieve that goal. TV coverage of those Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo fights was continuous from launch to return. And, with only three TV networks all showing the same thing, we learned an appreciation of science and technology like never before. In addition to Space Flight, Medicine was entering a new era. Dr. Christiaan Barnard performed the first successful heart transplant in 1967- new drugs were being produced at an unheard-of rate, and medical research was at its zenith in very major university. Science was also giving us our first warning signs about the use and abuse of the planet, creating a new awareness of environmental issues for the first time in the history of man. Computer technology was just beginning to take hold from it's first baby steps in the 1950's, and the reality that we could create a machine that would work as fast as the human brain (and had more capacity) became a real possibility.
With all that going on we all felt, as I felt so strongly, that information, human knowledge, data, and human compassion would guide our future to unimaginable heights. Looking back more than fifty years I can say that many of those dreams came true, but I can't give the area of science, technology, and medicine an A+. Even though we live in an era my father would not recognize if he were alive today, the issues of concern are two-fold. The first is that our capacity to apply the wisdom needed to regulate many of these innovations did not match our capacity to create them. In the age of computerized data and artificial intelligence information and technology can increase geometrically while our emotional and societal ability to absorb change increases much more slowly. In medicine for instance we can do things to keep a body alive that were never dreamt of- but we often have trouble answering the question: should we? In other words, we can preserve life- but we cannot always judge for another the quality of life to be preserved. The second issue is the one I never saw coming. I tend to view corporate power and political power as a combined entity- and today's reality undeniably demonstrates they are one in the same. So with all our advancements I did not see the corporate/political rise of conservatism. I simply didn't count on our egalitarian ideals being so easily pushed aside and corrupted by the forces of pure greed-dressed up in the cloaks of conservative "values". But it happened, with its seeds in the late '70's and the election of Reagan in 1980. This movement stifled the best of our advancements. Over the last generation this power base had gained control of so much power and wealth that it can influence educational trends and human thought on a mass level. It is promoting the idea that being educated is unnecessary, that much of what science tells us is a hoax, or just an opinion. For example a US Senator can stand in the well of the Senate and deny man-made climate change (for which there is overwhelming scientific evidence) while holding a snowball in his hands. This actually happened- and it was wintertime when he said "look at this snowball-see, no global warming." Corporate/political greed is back in vogue, and in spades! We see rollbacks on many rules and regulations to protect us and the earth we live on everyday- not because science supports it, but because the corporate/political powers tell us to mock and ignore science out their own greed. In medicine the last generation of health care has been marked by incredible advancement in medical technology, but research is focused on treatment and not cures (or prevention). Again, we see the rise the "health sector" in economic charts as the guiding influence in medical practice. The HMO model was born and suddenly medicine for profit was the rule. Our recent family medical situation has driven home the fact that money concerns are as big a factor in medical care as is the care itself. Put simply, American health care is more focused on developing expensive treatments than finding cures to many pervasive health issues, based purely on the profit motive.
I had also dreamt that someday mass communication methods could be used to bring the world together. Mine was the first "television generation". It enabled us to see events and observe the human condition in real time- for the first time in human history. This invention was also a huge catalyst for positive change (or so we thought) because of its power to show us injustice as it was happening, as well as momentous achievement as it was happening. Human rights issues around the world and at home could be displayed for all to see, and I dreamt that upon so many of us seeing these things, they would surely be solved. Once again I underestimated how this tool could be used to the opposite effect, and it was. Mass communication, instant communication as messaging was quickly turned into a tool for spreading false notions and spreading evil or selfish intent. Today we use instant satellite communication technology (TV and Digital Computerization) for nearly all human interaction from financial transactions, to all consumer purchasing, and managing our personal relationships and communications. Leaders in the "Christian Conservative" (an actual contradiction in terms) movement used mass communication methods like they were born to it- and they literally were born to it. This is a great example of how a movement can spread more quickly than was ever possible in all of man's prior history. TV gave us so many options for entertainment that we became addicted to the endless choices at the cost of losing ourselves and much of our curiosity to seek real advancement. Today's news is all about the influence of mass communication and spreading propaganda (both foreign and domestic) in our elections and is another prime example of mass communication gone bad. Mass communication and computerization have given us incredible advancements, and life in the western world ( and most other parts of the world) would not be the same without it. I certainly would not want to give it up. But in this category my youthful expectations were not realized. Young people never see, or perhaps aren't able to see, that for every true advance there are those who would use that advance for their own selfish purposes.
It would be easy to go on and on discussing how the hopes of long ago had faded into the realities of today's world. Race relations, economic injustice, environmental concerns, and the proliferation of war for profit are but a few of those areas that still deserve so much of our attention. Where those hopes and dreams did not come to their full fruition, there are still a great many that did. Those dreams that did not disappoint are mostly of a personal nature. Even in a world where violence still rages and mankind remains so selfish, families come into existence, and children grow to become good, caring adults. In these areas my youthful dreams for my future came true. The old adage that families always endure in spite of the world around us, is quite true. I was able to acquire an education and do the work I wanted to do, and my wife was able to do that too. We had children, and we were able to provide them with an education, and see them grow to be highly competent, caring people who are raising wonderful children themselves. On the whole, I would have preferred to see a different world than the one we have, but an honest reflection of my little part of the world tells me to be grateful for the dreams that did come true and to keep hoping and fighting for the ones I would still like to see.
I plan to do a more of these essays in the times ahead. It's nice to have a bit more time to think and reflect. I have come to appreciate, more than ever, the value of reflection. The vitriol and polarization we're experiencing now would sure be lessened by more reflection and less reaction. And, I shall endeavor to do that. But for now, thanks for looking in.
