Yesteryear And Tomrrow: We Can Ensure A Bright Fut Essay, Research Paper

Yesteryear and Tomrrow: We Can Ensure A Bright Future By Being Activeby Auren Hoffman————————————————————————Pundits always think it “used to be better.” Pundits are always longing foryesteryear when things were “simpler and purer.” Pundits are always sayingthat there is a moral decaying of our society.Pundits are wrong.Today’s society is many times better than America in 1700, 1800, 1900, or1950. We don’t have which hunts, there is no slavery, people have equalrights, disease is not wide spread, there is less poverty, learning hasincreased, people are better.The pundits say people where a lot nicer in yesteryear and politics wasmore civil. That’s a lot of baloney. Politics has never been civil — infact, politics is more civil now than it has ever been. It used to be thatinsults were even more commonplace, bribery was the norm rather than theexception, and constituents did not matter. In fact, Senators only startedbeing elected by the people this century (before that, they were appointedby their state legislature).Today is great — and the future will be even brighter.Technology is really revolutionizing the way we communicate. All thecliches about the world getting closer are true. But as we know, technologyhas a price and it is surrounded by a weighty dichotomy. On the one hand,technology can solve problems, prolong life, and generally make our world

more exciting. On the other hand, tech can destroy our self-securities,interfere on our privacy, and cause havoc with our economy. Some peopleclaim that a Brave New World of broad unsatisfaction that stiflescreativity is on the horizon.But we can work to ensure otherwise.We can ensure the 21st Century to be the first 100 years that are dominatednot by politicians, warlords, or nobility but by engineers, builders, andproblem solvers. With the advent of technology comes responsibility. Wecannot let politicians who speak out of both sides of their mouth orbureaucrats who don’t speak at all control the fate of our creations. Wecannot let ourselves be relegated to a Dilbertesque mind where theinventions and ingenuity of engineers and scientists are used for nefariouspurposes.Entrusting our nation in the hands of problem-solvers will not only bringstreamlined government — we will also see sensible changes, a moreprosperous nation, and more honesty in dealing with our problems.Our nation is on an upswing and we are slowly becoming more prosperous –but we need more. And though it won’t happen overnight, we will have agreater government for everyone in the not so distant future. The advent ofnew technology and the ease at which information can be processed haspitted our entire societal evolution at a crossroads. One thousand yearsfrom now when students of the future look back in time, we have to ensurethat our generation is not just some forgotten row in a historicaldatabase.