The Watchman's Diary

The world we live in is changing and will be different for our children and grandchildren. Ask your parents, and they may tell you that they, too, feel the same about our generation. If you are reading this while riding the bus, your world is different that in the 1970s and 1980s. You may feel you live in a more exciting time but for another it may be one of the scariest times of all. Some people are experiencing great economic certainty while others are barely scraping by. “But hasn’t that always been the case”? True, there has always been the haves and the have-nots. What makes the world as you know if unique is that this is the time in which you live. You may remember a time when the main highway through your town was a bi-directional one way street with very little traffic lights. Today that same street may be a local road that you try to avoid because of the many cross-streets and traffic lights. What you consider convenience may be complicated for another generation and the days your parents long for may have little appeal to you.

The world as we know it, is changing and there is very little we may be able to do to stop it or slow down the rate of change! Change is the one constant, Regardless of whether you embrace or resist it. What may matter most is what you do today to make tomorrow better for your children, friends, and neighbors. Is the world as you know it a perfect one? Great! What will you do to make sure it, is perfect tomorrow? Is the world as you know it in need of massive reform? What actions are you taking to foster those reforms you feel are necessary?

The world you know is the world you have the most impact on. It may be a community, a municipality, or an entire country. What do you feel is your role in maintaining or changing it for the better? Are you interested in changing it for the better!? You may simply want to mind your business and not be bothered by societal issues, and you have that right! In that case, one may argue that the world as you know it, is all about you. And still, you have that right.

For everyone else, there is a task at hand! Find out what that is and do it!

What was a cliche to the earlier generations is the norm today and people now embrace some of what were not before acceptable. Some today are arguing that precedent is under assault, while political activists are debating the degradation of norms. State governments are decriminalizing marijuana, and courts are contending with marriage equality. These are some of the issues that some may not have figured would be so prominent in their lifetime, but here we are. What change do you find most surprising and what do you wish the earlier generation had done differently?

The question above requires no answer. Instead, one may choose to look at where we are today and what we can do to make sure the next generation doesn’t have to look back and ask that same question. The question is not if, but when will the next change occur? Mans quest for knowledge makes change inevitable and we don’t always accept change outright. Change sometimes came about through bloodshed and much division. We need only to look back at the American Civil War to get a clear understanding of people’s resistance to change.

The world as you know it, already changed ever so slightly in the time it took to read this short note. What is your next move?