Thoughts of My Father
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The World is changing. Are You?
At first glance, this post might seem off-topic, but as you read further, you’ll see how it fits into my aim of getting people to think rather than accept things as they are. Many people go through life expecting tomorrow to be very much like today or yesterday. The reality is that tomorrow will be very different from today, only we aren’t always aware of the changes. Sometimes, the changes happen far away from us, but they will affect us - sometimes in minor ways and sometimes in life-changing ways.
As a young child growing up in an unchanging neighborhood, the wife of one of my neighbors took her own life. I did not know either of the parents, but I knew the two daughters and was closer to the younger one. I was very young, and the event had little effect on me, but it was life-changing for the husband and the two daughters.
In those days, many things were not discussed in front of children, but I am sure that my mother was distraught by this, and she and my father had many low conversations about how the family would continue after losing their mother. I believe this question affected my mother more than my father. He had been in combat in France and was no stranger to sudden, unexpected death.
My father was much older than my mother, and we had many talks about how I would need to help my mother when he died. In the end, he outlived my mother by some twenty years.
Not a day goes by that I don’t think about my father and what he taught me. I do occasionally think about my mother, but not as frequently.
My father and I had long talks about philosophy, politics, and religion. He would never have referred to himself as a philosopher, but he was actually teaching me by using the Socratic method. He would pose a question, and then I would need to defend and explain my position.
He was born in 1890 and lived until his late 90s. And Yes, I am an old man, but I am still flexible in my thoughts and always open to new ideas. My wife would argue about how set in my ways I am, but my habits are time-saving and allow me the time to think about the ideas I encountered in my many readings.
I recently conversed with a few people, making me think about my father’s life and what he experienced. There is a point to this preamble I will get to shortly. Still, it is helpful to present some background for you, the reader, to see how I arrived at my main point.
Change is all around us, and we are better served if we acknowledge this rather than trying to ignore it. Notice that I have never said that you must like these changes, only that you must acknowledge them and learn to live with them.
Denial has no survival benefits.
My father was born in Philadelphia, grew up in a suburb of Philadelphia, and lived most of his life in the surrounding areas. In WWI, he served in the army and fought in France. I have many stories about my father, but I will save them for another time. At this time, I want to point out the many changes my father experienced during his lifetime and his acceptance of these changes:
When he was born, his family had a horse and carriage.
In the 8th grade, he was required to write a letter seeking employment. His English teacher said it was a terrible letter. He mailed it to an insurance agency and got a job as an office boy at $3.50 a week - in those days, a week was five days 8 to 6 and 1/2 days on Saturday. He eventually bought the business.
He dropped out of high school to take the job - he never did graduate from high school. His father was dead, and his mother and brother needed the money he earned.
When cars were first being produced, he wrote to Harrisburg for a driver’s license - in those days there were no driving tests.
While in France in WWI, he flew in an open cockpit bi-plane and swore never to ride in a plane again.
He saw modern aviation's development and a man's landing on the moon.
He saw the beginnings of the computer age, the start of mobile phone usage, and color TV.
He took most of these changes in stride but never entirely accepted Rock ‘n Roll.
I am trying to show that in less than 100 years, we have gone from using horses for transportation to landing a man on the moon. Most things we consider more or less fixed, meaning only incremental changes are taking place, are an illusion.
The development of the mRNA vaccine has changed the course of vaccine development, but it took years of research to come to fruition. AI took years of software engineering before being released for public use. The creation of reusable rockets seemed to appear overnight, but engineers spent years developing the necessary components to make this a reality.
People tend to believe tomorrow will be like today, but things are changing and changing faster than ever. Some schools are no longer teaching handwriting, as it isn’t used anymore. When was the last time you wrote a letter to anyone? Today, most handwriting people do is sign a birthday or holiday card and address the envelope. Even the writing of a check is fast disappearing as we use credit cards for many purchases and pay our bills online or by direct debit to our checking accounts.
Some politicians talk about bringing back the “good old days.” This is coded language for bringing back segregation and making women subservient to men; fortunately, we can’t turn back the clock. Most politicians know this, but it is food for a base that will believe the most outlandish things.
The three largest Abrahamic religions were founded in patriarchal societies, and so was Hinduism. Buddhism has no central God and is more like a philosophy than what we usually think of as a religion, but it was also established in a patriarchal society.
As far back as recorded history shows, civilizations, and empires have come and gone, leaving almost no trace, while others are having an impact even today. The wars between Israel and Muslim countries are old feuds going back centuries. The sword spread both Islam and Christianity, with old conflicts remaining today.
Many of these old societies had their own God and Goddesses - none of which are followed today, and none saved their followers from disappearing. In our world, religions have faced seismic changes - giving equal rights, defining when life begins, and using stem cells in medical research are just a few of the developments forcing changes in religious practices.
Conclusions:
Changes are occurring more rapidly than ever before, directly affecting the average person more quickly than ever before. The younger generations are no longer content to accept things as they are; they are pushing for faster changes. Climate change is an excellent example of rapid changes affecting all of us. Many older people don’t want to accept this, but younger people know the change will significantly affect their lives.
In 500 hundred years, will we even be able to recognize what we call today Christianity or Islam? Will women still bear the burden of childbirth, or will the fertilized egg be grown to maturity in a laboratory? Will we still raise animals for slaughter, or will our meat be lab-grown?
Some of the most far-reaching changes will come as man colonizes the asteroids and planets. For those who doubt this possibility, I would like to remind them of how the “New World” was colonized once it became profitable to do so. The “gold rush” perfectly exemplifies man’s desire for economic gain. Through genetic engineering, will man modify himself to be more resistant to radiation, lower levels of oxygen, and new types of food? All this is in the quest for money and power.
Will the far-off colonies on Mars or the moon be content to be ruled by earth-bound politicians and laws, or will they seek self-governance and independence from non-space-faring peoples? How will trade between the colonies and Earth develop, and what new forms of currency will be will be created to handle this new type of commerence? What new laws will be designed to handle situations not encountered on earth, and how will offenders be punished or incarcerated?
If you have any interest in exploring this topic any further, send me an email at -ewhackett@gmail.com
Also, if there is enough interest in funny stories about my father, I will write about them.
Edward- A father like this is one of the most important gifts in the world: “My father and I had long talks about philosophy, politics, and religion. He would never have referred to himself as a philosopher, but he was actually teaching me by using the Socratic method. He would pose a question, and then I would need to defend and explain my position.”