Yea yea, it’s been a while but F%&* YOU! So I’m afraid I’ve been thinking, a dangerous past time I know. With all the reports of how much information is available in the world and the frequency with which it doubles is accelerating, I can’t help but ponder how it used to be. 100 years ago, which is only 3 generations for those outside of Utah and is about 10 generations for those within Utah, it was relatively easy to know what you needed to know to be successful in your life by the end of High School or even Jr. High. The 20th century saw some HUGE advances in science and technology which are only recently making their way into our schools for use by younger crowds. This massive leap in technology and education has imposed a gap between generations like never before. “Old” people (more precisely those about 50 and higher) tend to resist the new technology as un-trustable, unstable or they come out and just admit that they don’t want to make the effort to learn anything about it. Basically they are resisting change and unfortunately this complacent attitude has spilled into other aspects of their lives. For instance, racism is something I do not endorse, condone or even tolerate. I see absolutely no basis for it and anyone showing even the most remote manifestation of it becomes instantly ignorant and dangerous in my mind. Yet, I have grandparents and great grandparents who show (or had shown before they died) undeniable signs of being at least somewhat racist in their actions and speech. Things like this drive a wedge into relationships which had the potential to bridge generations. I would like to think that racism was a thing of the past and that those who genuinely practice it are old and decrepit individuals who were raised in the days when it was acceptable. This was upset the other day when I was listening to people interviewed after the Virginia Democratic Primary vote and heard a woman who I would guess was in her 30’s say “you know I dint vote fer no culerd” (attempt to replicate the accent). This was the only comment that really stuck in my mind from the several they had and has left me somewhat hostile toward the entire state. I should be able to accept that other people have differing views about things, but in something so divisive I feel they have no basis or right to believe such things. Instead I find myself pitying them and can’t help but wonder why they are unable to change their minds. Indeed, changing your mind about something so engrained into you can be a massive challenge, particularly when you have little or no support from friends or family while doing so. Instances of this are more frequent than I think most of us would realize, and the reason we hear so little about them is that the individual attempting to make massive a change feels so outnumbered and intimidated that they are likely to keep it to themselves, often times not even telling their spouse. Meanwhile, the individual begins to see others as ignorant or complacent in their dated beliefs and wonder why they haven’t begun to question things which they should see as glaringly obvious. It seems that the social environments we find ourselves in render us somewhat blind to outside influences. This sad condition of the human experience is part of what has me so frightened and pessimistic about our future in terms of education, politics, religion, international relations, and practically all other aspects of life. What can be done? I have only partial and poorly thought out solutions, but what difference does it make? I am in no position for ANYONE to listen to anything I have to say. I have found no groups or organizations that support my opinions ([sarcasm] which is REALLY handy when election day comes [/sarcasm]) so I can’t join a group of peers or even donate to their cause. Therefore, there is little I can do to change the situation, which leaves me angry and spiteful. Perhaps the best solution is to leave the country in favor of a more accommodating climate, but that only solves a few of the problems. What I feel needs to happen is a comprehensive and systematic alteration and streamlining of all 3 branches of the federal government, our educational systems, our tax laws, our state governments, and all other bloated and inefficient bureaucratic systems we see around us. I think one of the first things that should happen is changing the first two grades, 7th grade and 10th grade to more heavily emphasize HOW to think and learn, not WHAT to think and learn. But I suppose before anything like this would actually go into effect there would need to be a general consensus among the public and school officials, something which is apparently implausible. It seems ignorance is a self replicating virus infecting our young and poisoning their minds to ensure its survival in later generations. And all this at a time when I’ve just brought my first child into the world and am celebrating the first birthday that means absolutely nothing to me. Happy Day…
