I keep hearing people gripe about how awful everything has become; about how doomed we are as a growing species, and how little we have achieved. Politicians and naysayers bemoan the state of society, theologians warn of the end of the world, and the media continues to exploit the darkest vignettes of our lives.
In response to all of this, I wish to point out the following changes I have observed in my own lifetime. Granted, I'm relating from the American point of view, but all humans beings are capable of behavioral and societal changes. The wish to live in a better world where people treat each other fairly, and the ability to change things accordingly are not national traits, they are human traits.
1. When I was a child, we all lived with the perpetual fear of world annihilation. Bombshelters and "duck and cover" exercises were a fact of life. Two super powers who disagreed on how a country should be run faced each other across oceans with itchy fingers poised over little red buttons. One false move, one mistake, and the world as we knew it would be gone forever. Enormous stockpiles of nuclear weapons were maintained for the sole purpose of "defense" against a possible strike. Never had the entire world been so vulnerable to the vagaries of disagreeing politicians. The people whose lives were most directly affected lived in a state of tension and despair, wondering if our leaders would ever realize the senselessness of this position. In my lifetime, they did, and things changed. Although we still live with the reality of terrorism and the possibility of war overseas, we no longer plan bomb shelters for our homes, or fear some instant, world crushing nightmare of national madness. This is progress.
2. One of the by-products of that first scenario was a division of almost all of the world into halves. We were "us" and they were "them" These vague terms were cause for suspicion and disdain. "We" were only protecting ourselves from "their" bad ways, thoughts and deeds. "We" had to take care never to expose ourselves to "their" ways of thinking, speaking or ways of life. Most American people had only the most nebulous understanding of other cultures. Different was synonymous with wrong. As the net of communication grows larger, the world grows smaller, and we learn more about each other. We are coming to know that we are all "us." We are uncovering the "in our face" truth that we all want and desire the same things. Parents everywhere want to raise their children in safety and peace. All the peoples of the world have the same goals; freedom from hunger, strife and a chance to grow and thrive. Hands have begun reaching to hands across boundaries in recognition of our commonality. This is progress.
3. When I was a young girl, bigotry was not only accepted, it was encouraged. While I was taught to be polite to everyone, I was warned that I was not to go so far as to socialize with anyone who was a different color than I was, or who spoke a different language. If, gods forfend, a person we knew was discovered to be homosexual, the same rule applied. People of certain religions were also to be avoided. It was made clear that if these rules were broken, you would be ostracized by friends and family. You would be societally misplaced, an outcast among your own "people." If bad things happened to these "abnormals" you were to look the other way, and never, never get involved. You were told that "They look after their own," and if "they" hadn't been who or what they were..or had not strayed from where "they" should be, this would never have happened. This was unacceptable to me then, and has become unacceptable to more and more people everyday. We are learning that different is superficial, "the same" is a more fundamental truth. We have passed laws that reflect the majority's desire to penalize the crime of hatred due only to difference. We are more able now to socialize with, love and befriend anyone we please, secure in the societal knowledge of truth. This is progress.
4. I was an abused child, and my first marriage was to an abusive man. During these periods of my life, the right of my parents and husband to do as they please was barely questioned. Interference was discouraged and rarely accomplished anything except to make things worse for the victims. There were no battered women's shelters, no concerned teachers, no laws and no recourse to protect the rights of those who could not defend themselves in their own homes. There are now. This is progress.
We are changing, and there is hope. Yes, we do still have many tremendous challenges ahead in relation to understanding and treating each other properly. Yes, there is a long way to go. But never for a minute let the doom-sayers convince you we are lost as a species. Each of us, in a myriad of ways both small and large, have the power to change the world and ourselves. We can make a difference. I've seen the proof of progress, and it gives me strength and hope for the battles ahead. I hope it gives you strength too.