“Each technology
Blames the one earlier than,
And all of their frustrations
Come beating in your door.”
— Mike and the Mechanics, “The Dwelling Years”
As you learn this, I on my method to Walla Walla, Wash., for my fiftieth highschool reunion.
It’s trigger for reflection.
In 1973, as with earlier generations, we had been important of those that went earlier than us. The Best Era could have gained World Struggle II, however additionally they gave us Vietnam and Watergate. You understand there’s work to be achieved when your president, Richard Nixon, feels a compelling want to inform People, “I’m not a criminal.” And it subsequently turns into evident that he was not solely a criminal but additionally a liar.
Within the midst of the 51-day, must-see Watergate hearings throughout my senior yr at Walla Walla Excessive College, I wrote an essay for Tim Corfield’s modern “Social, Financial and Political Programs” class. It argued a concept that I nonetheless consider: The wonderful thing about America, I wrote, is that we typically get it proper ultimately. It simply takes longer — typically lots longer — than it ought to. I cited slavery, World Struggle I and World II as major examples.
Mr. Corfield gave me an “A” on the paper however wrote a be aware saying he needed to see me after class. Like all good academics, he needed to problem me. How, he questioned, did I feel America may efficiently emerge from the deep divisions that had been festering in 1973? And he jogged my memory that historical past would argue that sometime the American experiment would seemingly finish. Even the Roman Empire finally fell, he stated.
I stumbled and stuttered for a minute earlier than realizing I didn’t actually have a clue how you can reply him. The very best I may supply was a perception that the beliefs held by my technology in the course of the Vietnam Struggle and Watergate would finally prevail. Mr. Corfield had a approach of elevating his eyebrows that signaled he had hoped I may do higher. He argued that it took the civic involvement of all residents to make sure our future. And as editor of the highschool newspaper (sure, it’s the place I received my begin in journalism), he stated I had an obligation to be extra concerned.
“Actions converse louder than phrases,” he admonished.
I largely failed in accepting his problem that yr. However within the years that adopted, in my position at this newspaper and in my volunteer work, I did what I may.
However, oh my, the problem.
I by no means thought I’d reside to see deeper political division on this nation than I skilled as an adolescent within the late Sixties and early Seventies.
The Vietnam Struggle. The abortion debate. “America, Find it irresistible or Go away It.” Huge racial and political unrest at school campuses throughout the nation. Smog-laden cities and polluted rivers. Martin Luther King’s and Robert F. Kennedy’s assassinations. Nixon’s enemies listing. Watergate. Nixon’s resignation.
The parallels to as we speak are eerie.
Ukraine. The abortion debate. Make America Nice Once more. George Floyd and the large protests. Local weather change. Donald Trump’s refusal to simply accept the election outcomes. The Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Impeachment hearings. A number of Trump indictments.
A very good argument could be made that, regardless of our greatest efforts, my technology is leaving as massive or a fair larger mess than we inherited.
It speaks to the warning provided by George Orwell lengthy earlier than the category of 1973 was born. “Each technology imagines itself to be extra clever than the one which went earlier than it, and wiser than the one which comes after it.”
If Mr. Corfield had been with us as we speak, he would have chuckled and nodded his head in settlement.
How I want I may chat with him at my upcoming reunion. I can hear him asking, “Evaluate and distinction Richard Nixon and Donald Trump and their impression on America.” Sadly, Mr. Corfield died in 2009. I can solely hope that his substitute and highschool academics all over the place are difficult their college students to meet their civic engagement obligations.
There’s nonetheless a lot work to be achieved.
