The best and worst of times, 2009

Charles Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities, written in 1859 starts with, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times”. Dickens could have written this book today. It is the best and worst of times. Why do I say that? Let’s take a look: “It was the best of times”; medical science is conquering diseases and our life expectancy has doubled since Dickens. “It was the worst of times”; millions of people are starving to death even though we have the food supply, the distribution systems, and the capacity to feed everyone. We lack the political will. “It was the age of wisdom”; we can solve complex business problems and save our institutions. Some can see the need to cooperate to make things better for everyone. “It was the age of foolishness”; global climate change and saving our planet have become political issues. Our self-absorption blinds us to the facts. “It was the season of light”; There is a growing trend toward people being concerned with other people’s difficult circumstances. Some of us do seem to care about each other. “It was the season of darkness”; we kill each other with reckless abandon in unnecessary wars. “It was the spring of hope”; we see the possibilities for the human race. “It was the winter of despair”; our capacity for evil matches our capacity for good. “We had everything before us”; hope springs forth in every newborn child. “We had nothing before us”; that child will inhabit a world of scarcity and a planet of limited resources unless we get smarter. “We were all going direct to heaven”; we truly believe in our own virtue even if we only use it with those we like. “We were all going direct the other way”; our hubris condemns us to never ending cycles of human suffering. What more fitting book to quote at the end the decade and beginning of another? We can be both pessimistic and optimistic as we imagine the future. Young people will come of age. Old folks will depart. That’s the cycle and our species will continue to blunder through conflicts and enjoy startling new discoveries. And it makes me wonder what it is about us humans that keep us in essentially the same place with regard to social progress. No question, we’ve made tremendous gains in technology and the sciences. But all too often we use them to harm other people. I wish that I could be more positive but at this point we just cannot get out of our own way. More and more, I am left with the nagging feeling that our emotional development is in regression. We let our strong feelings override our logic and we do terrible things to each other. Yes, we can do great things together. But to be honest, I fear that at this point, we are on the wrong trajectory. If our present inability to listen to each other continues, we won’t make much social progress in the next ten years. If we can’t learn to cooperate for the benefit of the whole, we’ll deepen our global problems. If we continue as we are, what will we do to each other and the planet in the next decade? It worries me. Maybe I’m just a pessimist. But just the same, I have a positive New Year’s wish. I wish that humanity would finally recognize that “we’re all in the same boat”. And that this awareness shapes our policies, our actions, our private and public institutions and especially, our personal interactions. But then I’m reminded of what Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman said, “Optimists are happier in their lives but pessimists have a better grasp of reality”.