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| Flag over the Wisconsin River. 7/2/2016 dwm photo |
Many changes are spectacular, notably that we carry more computer power in our phones than existed at the dawn of the space age. Instead of three TV channels, we have more than 500 channels plus unlimited online streaming services or vaults filled with videos on every topic imaginable.
We can talk with people across the world, watch them in real time, and experience something together. This has possibilities for advancement, more education, and raising all boats.
It is simple to think about the 'good 'ol days' in writing about memories. There is something to it, but it's important to remember the not-so-good aspects of those early days.
Inequality and racism were so much a part of life that if you were part of the privileged group it was easy to presume that your life reflected everyone's experience.
I grew up in Janesville, a community that was 98% white during my childhood. There was a more substantial African-American population in Beloit, a similar size community ten minutes south. That was just a fact of life, it wasn't something I thought about very much. One factor may have been the large Fairbanks-Morse plant that was producing a lot military equipment during World War II as the migration north from the south was underway. On the other hand, General Motors was big in Janesville at the time and supporting the war effort, so why the difference in the make-up?
Looking back, I imagine there was a distinct lack of opportunities or out-right discrimination in terms of housing or employment.
The most important class I took during high school was Black History. Even looking back at that, it seems stranger now that our instructor was of Italian ancestry.
I'm in favor of the efforts to create more opportunities; address the wrongs committed; to take action.
That may be part of what is fueling some of the political discord in our country in 2021 and represents the least encouraging part of America these days. Our inability to agree on what fair voting opportunities look like is sad and frightening. Are we moving toward a less democratic style of government? That idea would have been laughable not long ago, but recent actions and political proclamations by people who should know better illustrates that the United States of America isn't immune to the ills elsewhere that tore down open systems of government to favor the few.
As I complete this assignment for the StoryWorth book of a lifetime, I'm watching the Army - Navy football game. The comments from young men about their decisions to enter the military and serve the U.S.A. provides a positive glimpse of the future.
My prayer is that our nation under God finds its way back to a path that lets freedom and equality ring true for all.
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