60 Years

60 years.  Looking back over this time of social and economic change one has to ask whether we have actually progressed – or taken a giant step backwards.  Our lives have been revolutionised by technology – giant steps forward – but at what price? 

The cost of progression has been immense.  In this fast-paced so-called ‘modern’ society, we appear to have lost sight of the fundamental tools needed to develop the skills necessary to function normally within a structured society. 

The basic infrastructure of society has dissolved, leaving behind a detrius of dysfunction, damage, and disillusionment.  Our children are forced to become adults long before they have experienced childhood.  We, as adults, are emotionally crippled – struggling to survive in a ‘throw away’ society.  We are a disposable commodity.  We can no longer look forward to security within work, home, or marriage.  If this ‘modern’ society has taught us anything – it is that no one, and nothing – is indispensable. 

Human beings are not designed to cope with this level of continued stress.  We will, and do – crack under pressure.  We medicate ourselves or seek therapy in the hope that our problems will be alleviated, or disappear altogether.  A temporary solution to an impossible situation. 

The past 60 years have brought incredible advancements in science, technology, and medicine that have affected us all.  We have all reaped the benefits of these advancements.  We have a headache – we take a pill.  We tire of our partner – we get a divorce.  We hate our job – we get another.  It seems that we have an answer, or a solution, to almost every problem.   

Looking back can often provide a mirror to the future.  Perhaps there is after all, truth in the old saying, ‘Ignorance is bliss?’