In the aftermath of the atom bomb, having proved that we are already adept at knowing how to destroy ourselves, the question became can we figure out a way to not destroy ourselves?
Maybe it was a result of my early exposure to 60s protest songs, or because I tend to resonate more with the old wisdom than I do the new innovations, but it always seemed to me that despite all the progress and economic development, all the medical and technological advances, the comforts and conveniences of modern living, the improvements and upgrades and enhancements and even taking into account the steady increase in our average life expectancy that we were progressing in the direction of self-destruction, not self-preservation.
We may have gained certain capacities along the way, such as the ability to travel and communicate across greater distances in shorter amounts of time, or to mass produce products, or increase the yields of our hunts and harvests, or shield ourselves against visible and immediate threats to hearth and health and home, but in the process, we introduced new and even more treacherous hazards, in the form of toxic chemicals, harmful radiation and damaging stress which all whittle away at our physical, mental, and emotional well-being, thus raising questions about quantity versus quality of life.
But in light of recent scientific advances such as the portable, inexpensive desalination units which render ocean water drinkable within a matter of minutes, thus making the threat of water scarcity appear just a little less dire, or the recent findings that coral reefs can, with our help or maybe without our hindrance, recover from and adapt to climate change, which is good news for marine life and all the creatures, industries, food chains and beaches that depend on it I find myself feeling a lot more hopeful lately about our progress, and the direction were heading.
Im thinking, maybe we havent been losing ground but instead have been just barely outrunning our problems.
Maybe thats what progress is: get rid of one problem and in the process create another.
Sure, were the ones who built the factories and burned the fossil fuels and blew the soot and noxious fumes out through the smokestacks and into the sky; and were the ones who dumped the waste into the river, and spilled the oil into the sea; the ones who sprayed poison on our fields and food and flowers, and buried batteries and tires and old radios and TVs in our landfills.
And yeah, maybe it did cause cancer, and maybe it did endanger a species or two, but widespread as it may be, the fact is: cancer is no longer the death sentence it once was; and the eagles and falcons and gators and bears and wolves and whales and woodpeckers are back again, so maybe we are making progress.
Of course, progress is a relative term, relative to given points in time. Such as the 1960s were better than the 1930s, the Renaissance period was better than the Medieval period, or the Tang Dynasty was better than the Sui Dynasty. And also relative to different parameters and indices, such as the economy or the environment, or the amount of pain or pleasure we experience.
But in my book, theres no progress if we are not moving toward greater understanding, greater fulfillment, and a richer experience of life and living.
They say that the first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem.
But part of the problem, with all the politics and economics and religion and social dynamics that get in the way, is that we cant seem to agree or get consensus on whats a problem and whats not.
As for whether were outrunning or being overtaken by our problems, remember that:try as you might, you cant run away from yourself.
So, the enlightened persons way of dealing with a problem is to first look in the mirror and realize that the solution and the path to progress may begin with oneself.
Iwas skimming through the weekly science and technology report, and I read this little teaser sentence in a shaded box that said, When pain b
"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today." Ben Franklin
Maybe at first I had some grand notion of doing it all in one continuous expedition, but considering my life, my family, and the need for empl
Is there no end to the enlightening revelations that come our way in the national news? Like today, I read an article that said poverty and pu
It was just an empty field of dry grass, not a tree or a bush in sight. Not a table or a bench, nothing that might serve as a prop for play, b
One thing I appreciate about scientists is that theyre willing to let reality shape their beliefs rather than vice versa. If, for instance, t
You know when you cant get a song out of your mind? You find yourself singing it, over and over, in all the different settings you move throu
The first call came in at about 6 p.m. from a friend in South Carolina, and over the next 18 hours several more calls from all over the countr
Iwas listening to my friend describe a series of experiences hes had with a gray fox, which have taken place now over a number of years, and
Ive been watching the coverage on the news about whether or not the federal government should make available $25 billion to bail out the auto
Iwas getting out of my truck, and the door handle broke off in my hand. For a second, I thought I was going to have to get out on the passenge
In one of my favorite all-time books, a Muslim, a Christian and a Jew play a remarkable game of poker in the back room of an antiquities shop
It was an article about how free choice does not result in happiness. It talked about how in American culture and in our philosophy of democra
It takes power to do or to accomplish anything, whether its lifting up a weight, driving the car down to the corner store, or standing up for
From the time I was 9 years old, I knew Id leave my home state of Michigan and move to California. I didnt know when or how long Id end up
There was a story I did about 15 years ago, having to do with cell phones and the possible long-term effects caused by radiation emitted from
I woke up the other morning and said to my gal, we need to find a way to fit living into our lives.
I love words. I love the sound, the rhythm, the pictures and the emotions they can evoke.
Sam Cooke sang, "Change is gonna come." Ghandi said, "Be the change you want to see," and Warhol wrote, "They say times change, but you actual
In a poll, executives rated creativity as the single most important trait for success in business. Yet, those same people who said creativity
When I was little, maybe in junior high, I read an interview with Eric Clapton in which the interviewer asked what he thought about people cal
Theres an old Sufi saying: Even if it makes you happy, at the mint, fools gold will be identified. That came to mind this afternoon, as I
It seemed to me there were far fewer Christmas lights on display this year than any year I can remember. It struck me as I was driving, and ov
Im writing this on my 55th birthday, while reading an article in Science Daily that tells how a man reacts to hassles between the ages of 55
For at least the last four decades, obesity rates have risen steadily in the United States. Today, 28 percent of Americans are classified as o
One of my memories from grade school days was taking chalkboard erasers down to the janitors room, and putting them on the bench-mounted vacu
As I was gearing up for my trip, knowing I was headed for hot and humid weather, I decided to buy a couple of white T-shirts to help control t
Steve Bannon told President Trump to throw some haymakers. As a boxing and hockey fan, I knew what he meant.
As the sportswriter for the newspaper, I was on assignment to cover the first professional boxing event at our local casino, and what an event
One of the best ones Ive heard in a while comes from University of Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh Go Blue! who instructs his player
They wanted balloons for the celebration, but the guy at the balloon store said they couldnt get us a helium tank because theres a shortage
Iwas walking up to the corner, and there was a car stopped in the street next to me, waiting to make a right turn. I was still probably 20 yar
Good friends are like trampolines. Theyre there to catch you when you fall, then they bounce you back up again. They have enough give in them
Theres this dude who haunts my dreams. Actually, its not in my dreams where he haunts me but on the street, walking around town.
There was this kid on my basketball team when I was growing up, and boy, could he shoot free throws.
There are certain days, certain moments, certain events embedded so deeply and that stick out so vividly in memory theyre always right there
I dont know if that was normal or an unusually high or low week for me, but I do know Americans spend, on average, five hours, 24 minutes a d
I was in the market, refilling my water jugs, gloves on as they have been for the past month whenever I go out in public. Most of the people a
Occasionally I like to scan through a list of odds-and-ends trivia that appears on a website I sometimes visit. I was doing so today, when I c
My gal said, "I liked it better when we didnt know peoples politics." She was referring to the ways in which some people make it known on so
I dont know, maybe its because Ive been reading these great epic novels lately, which follow a group of close comrades and crisscrossing fr
Four years ago, at this same time, I wrote a column five days before the election knowing it wouldnt come out until two days after the el
A few years ago, it was the music stars: Bowie, Prince, Glenn Frey, Leonard Cohen, George Martin, Scotty Moore, Merle Haggard, Paul Kantner an
Sometimes when you eliminate the distractions and the trimmings, you can get down to the real meat and potatoes, or maybe just the potatoes if
I was driving over the Pass in the early morning light, and Bob Marley came on the radio. The song was Rat Race, from the Rastaman Vibration
Maybe its because our holidays have been taken away from us this year that some of us feel its even more important than ever to celebrate th
When I had an office and a desk at the newspaper building, and I would go in to do work from there, unlike now when everything is sent electro
Call it rooting for the underdog, fighting for those who have been marginalized or discriminated against, or speaking out for the cause of jus
Rain is Gods gift to poets. I say that not because its so beautiful or sweetly natural or dramatic or gentle, as the case may be; and neithe
In the old days, like in the first century B.C. and again in the 16th century (A.D. or C.E.) they used to change the calendar when it didnt m
This past week marked one year since everything started shutting down on a mass scale due to COVID-19. I know because I was emceeing a music f
Read the original:
Keeping pace on the path to progress | Ron Colone - Santa Ynez Valley News
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