A generation’s defining moment
One of my favorite quotes is from Bill Watterson, who once had Calvin make a really astute observation: “There is never enough time to do all the nothing you want.” I have been trying to make the most of that opportunity during this week between the holidays, acquiring new skills, catching up on reading, and indulging my more artistic (at least to me) inclinations. But the time has also given me an opportunity to think a bit about this strange moment we’re living through, and the view ahead.
To say this moment in history is transformative is beyond simplistic. Its duration and outcomes, both expected and unexpected, will leave a lasting impact for a generation or more to come, far beyond what we can estimate today. It has already tried us in ways few other events possibly could — and will continue to do so in ways we cannot yet predict. The way we lead our lives has been changed to the point where we now, consciously or not, already discern the “before time” from the present. What comes after remains yet to be known.
But I don’t see this as cause for despair — in fact, quite the opposite. This isn’t the first time humanity has faced a crisis that has tried our very foundations. The term “greatest generation” was coined to recognize the transformation forced on those who came through the repeated crises of the first half of the twentieth century. They did not choose to live through two world wars, a global depression, and the lingering chill of the Cold War’s uncertainty and dread thereafter. But more important than the effort and innovation that dire necessity wrought out of that crucible was the character of the people that emerged. Many believed that they could do anything their imaginations could grasp. And in many ways, they succeeded beyond anything realistically conceivable before.
To be sure, their achievement wasn’t unmitigated. While many of that generation strove for greater equality, inequalities clearly remain. The evolution of industrial society has left us with consequences that may threaten the very existence of life on earth as we presently know it. At least one aspect of the current global pandemic is a part of that, given that the increased push of humanity into closer encounters with things like zoonotic diseases has played a role in what we’re experiencing now.
But if we can learn lessons that can inspire new ways to thrive, our current crises have the potential for forging good. This is our own “greatest generation” moment. Will we be able to make the most of the opportunity and leverage its potential to change for the better?
Think of what we’ve done already with the COVID-19 pandemic. Initial SARS-CoV-2 variants were genetically sequenced in unprecedented time, with cooperation across investigators motivated by the global scale of need. New vaccines capitalizing on advances in technology were produced and distributed within months. Therapeutic treatments have similarly appeared. As variants have multiplied, so will the measures to respond in an effort without parallel in history.
Here, too, however, inequalities abound. As do extremes of opinion and point of view on response. But again, this is not entirely unfamiliar ground. The same freedom to explore and build necessary to overcoming adversity also allows for a noisy exchange of ideas. Though the media we employ today give individuals a voice hearable by anyone virtually anywhere in the world within moments, there are few extreme situations the world has ever faced that have not been fraught with discord and disagreement.
Through it all, humans have set foot on the moon and we have seen distant worlds. We’ve eradicated some diseases and made others that were formerly hopeless into conditions that can be treated and lived with. The evolution of industrialization has made much of this possible — but at the cost of the well-being of the planet. Yet here as well, creativity and industry spurred by extreme demand will be needed to reduce the negative impact that industrialization continues to mount.
The possibilities begin with each one of us. We may individually face struggles that may be overwhelming. It is how we face them that will determine the outcome of experience than can be used for the betterment not only of ourselves, but even more importantly, for those who follow us.
What can I do in this rare moment to help us pass along a legacy worthy of a name?
