In Spite of It All, Hope 9/8/2024

By: Jennifer Richardson Holt

I was listening to someone express the woes of today’s society and honestly, I wasn’t disagreeing.  The conversation carried on down the path of bemoaning how the world isn’t what it used to be and how things were so terribly different. This is probably, no, definitely true.  I absolutely didn’t used to have the entirety of the world’s knowledge in my pocket to always carry around when I had to dig out the old Funk and Wagnall’s Encyclopedia to hope like the dickens that whatever info I needed was in there and was enough to meet whatever assignment need that I needed it to.  My source of the time didn’t automatically update with the vernal and autumnal equinoxes and just sync to be accurate by, well, I am not exactly sure how digital clocks are just inherently accurate. I assume it’s a satellite thing.   So no, the times are not like they used to be, but I can’t help but think that though every time I hear that phrase uttered it is in a negative connotation, is that always a bad thing?

I’m not going to deny that change isn’t always for the better. I don’t really want to get into all the unpleasantness if I’m honest. We all have sources of news, so we all know what is going on in the world. I refuse to be a negative Nelly and rant about it. There is enough of the population doing that for me.  I do truly get it though. I am not even that old (she said grasping tightly to her youth knowing it is as slippery as a greased eel), and things are drastically different from when I was young which, in my mind, wasn’t that long ago.   And in my defense, in the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t that long ago.  But while I won’t run a list of all the awful things that we face these days, I will say what I think is at the core of things. While I am certain that there are many factors, many of which I may not be knowledgeable enough to ascertain, I feel pretty safe in naming a few.

I don’t think we have our priorities straight. I think we put emphasis on trivial things and a massive portion of the population thinks that the world revolves around them.  It’s like the teenager mindset a little bit. And as a former one myself I can speak to this with accuracy.  It seems that many people are so wrapped up in their own emotions and so inwardly focused.  So many people are so all about themselves and what they want, that they tend to somewhat be shocked when everyone else on the planet does not agree with their consensus that the world revolves around them.  You know what I mean. Teenagers’ main focus is what fun or pleasantry they can provide for themselves. I’m a bit concerned that the vast majority of people have embraced this and as long as they are happy then, well, that’s all that needs to be. And as a person who is very much no longer a teenager, happiness is fleeting and a terrible thing to center one’s life upon.

Speaking of the teenage mindset, another thing I think is not remotely considered today are consequences for actions. Now, you know as well as I do that when you were a teenager anything beyond the next moment of fun was not a passing thought. The future was a million miles away and all that mattered was the right now and what felt good at the time.  This was because obviously when you are a teenager you will live forever so no need to worry about what was ahead.  If the feel-good was going to have any repercussions, they were about as far away and totally unconsidered as possible. Today that seems to be a common denominator. The idea of anyone being responsible for their own actions seems to be terribly outlandish.

But, while we may have lost our way in some things, we have definitely found a new and wonderful way in others. I certainly didn’t have any artificial intelligence offering to help me with being concise and have appropriate tone when I was scribbling notes down in high school. My car didn’t start without a key then.  Heaven knows the glories of medicine these days. Illnesses that were a death sentence, sometimes not even that long ago, are mild inconveniences now due to amazing treatments.  Sadly, no teleportation or flying cars yet, but your average civilian (with enough money) can casually mosey into space. I don’t know about all of you, but my mind boggles at some of these things. And while some of them may be frivolities, most were for the legitimate betterment of mankind.

It’s now easier than ever for us to help anyone on the planet with the push of a button on our computers or phones.  We can spread the word for a good cause in a millisecond. We can stay in touch with special people in spite of them being in a different hemisphere.  We know and do and see and repair and heal so much more now than we could years ago.  Sure, we have some issues, but every generation does.  Things have most certainly changed from the days of yore, but instead of focusing on what we are told are the “good ole days” let’s try to remember that today and tomorrow are in fact full of promise and contrary to what today’s media would have you believe, there are great possibilities ahead.