Readers Who Write

My mother was born in 1901 in a backward hamlet in the northern part of an inconsiderable country.

Sliced bread, paper towels and other similar conveniences had not as yet been contrived. It was a slow-emerging world, and traditional societies underwent pressure from that slow-changing world. After a number of years, mother did hear about the Wright brothers first flight in 1903, as well as other events that slowly made news but did not affect her way of life in any way.

She heard about the “Great War,”  and during the years of the Second World War experienced a most uncertain time with shortages and worries about the present and future times. 

Later she heard news from America — the assassination of JFK, the success of Project Apollo and others that did not change her life. She lived during the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. 

She did not see the latest events, but we of a later generation should look ahead, using what we reasonably know and might expect. We still have the agency to make constructive responses, even when “solutions” are out of reach.

Those born today won’t live the same history as my mother — or even me — but for them the road may still be rising. A century ago, much of the future seemed already written, almost plain to see.

The Wright brothers had first flown in 1903, and 20 years later aviation was thriving even in its infancy. Airmail and passenger travel was launched, and by the late 1950s jet airlines were common. The first liquid-fuel rocket was launched in 1926. The United States landed men on the moon in 1969.

The War to End All Wars ended in an Allied victory in 1918. But prescient observers predicted that the harsh peace was only an armistice that would last 20 years.

The Great War also saw tsarist Russia fall to revolution, with the Bolsheviks establishing the Soviet Union. By the 1920s Stalin was in power and setting the stage for terror across the country and state-imposed famine in Ukraine. The U.S.S.R. would become America’s rival in the Cold War that dominated much of the 20th century. The deadly 1918-1920 influenza pandemic gave way to the prosperous Roaring ’20s in the U.S., the most powerful economic expansion to that point in history. Even with the Great Depression and World War II looming, America came through as the world’s industrial and military superpower.

The 1900s were often referred to as “The American Century.” Other developments were unseen: nuclear weapons, high technology, the fall of the Soviet Union, 9/11, and the rise of China among them. It’s a reminder that even the clearest-seeming crystal ball is fallible.

Now in our ’20s, much of the future appears threatening or unfathomably murky. For the nation and even the planet. The homelessness crisis grew worse despite millions of dollars spent to address it. Crime continues to be a serious problem.

Some have called the future a convergence of shocks such as human-caused droughts, floods and wildfires; the fragility of Democracy, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol; Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; and the increasing tension between the United States and China. This could bring two nuclear powers into direct conflict.

My generation’s world is slipping away, as it did for my mother years ago. The old wake up in a foreign country, even if they never leave home.

A century ago, much of the future seemed apparent. Today, it’s anything but that.

I realize that much of the above shows a negative slant. Many can contradict the above and claim that there may still be a good portion of hope and positive action for the future. But how to arrive at such hope remains the question. How do we obtain such a status? Although we may come to believe that the negative doctrine may be overtaking this world, we also know that hope springs eternal.

Knowing that hope is a better companion than fear, hope may wipe away and even diminish the dark side of this universe, and hope for a better environment and world can begin with you. It will take work, a lot of work, but it can be done. Don’t ever lose hope for a better world.

So you say you want to write?

Go for it.

Send us 500 or so words of scintillating copy. Make it funny. Make it poignant. Make it count. Make it any way you want.

Just don’t cuss. Don’t be boring. And have a point.

If we like it, we’ll run it.

Email submissions to community@rv-times.com. Put “Readers Who Write” in the subject line, and tell us the city where you live.