Faith in the Future

      A mainstream theme while growing up in the 1960s and 1970s was our collective faith in our country's future. We had elegant symbols like the World's Fair in Flushing Meadows (Queens, NY) and exciting moments like when we had men walk on the moon. These two alone suggested future prosperity and a common sense of community. Who can forget waking up early to watch space craft launches? It took precedence over getting ready for school and for work. We all stood around in our PJs and bathrobes while we waited for the countdown and eventual combustion of the propellants which would launch the craft into outer space. Today we are unquestionably a richer society in the aggregate than in those earlier days. The faith in the future we had was certainly justified and has borne fruit beyond our wildest dreams. What's more, it is still justified in my opinion. Yes, those were simpler times in many respects, despite the technological advances represented by our space flights. There were fewer distractions than we have today, no I-Phones, countless TV stations, and the vastness of The Internet to consume large amounts of our collective time and energies. Though one question continues to make me wonder, "How does our sense of community today compare?" 

     I am going to assume collective experiences and our inter-dependency are good things, and by sharing them they help us through difficult societal transitions. For instance, like ending segregation by race, and allowing women to have options in addition to being a stay-at-home Moms, to name two. No doubt there are issues, large and small, today which we still must face. These current problems will likely require the same sense of duty and commitment, if not more so, than that we mustered in the recent past. This is really no surprise to anyone who keeps up with world affairs. The follow-up question is, "Do we still possess the expertise and capacity to solve our current problems?" As an optimist, I will answer yes. Though the pragmatist in me realizes that a personal investment will need to be made by everyone involved. These efforts will be aided, as they usually are, by easily identifiable common symbols. This is where my grounds for optimism requires some clarity, because I can't see which common symbols people will feel compelled to rally around. Maybe the answer is that the symbols will be smaller and more localized than in the past, and there will be more of them to choose from. The end result will hopefully be the same as in the past when we were doing the highly visible space exploration projects. People saw themselves then watching those early morning space launches as members of a group who were intent on producing positive, lasting changes. Their efforts, however tangential, felt significant and like they would long endure. This is the sort of feeling which will need to be re-created for us to continue to have a justifiable faith in our future. The efforts I know are going on as we speak. All it requires is for each one of us to look around and see how we can best help.