In my opinion, the best thought this week came about on Friday when we had current events. I believe it was Mr. Allen who said "Long-term thinking will be the death of Americans." This comment really made me think.
In an age of instant gratification and technology, everything we want is at the tip of our finger tips. But when were forced to think about something that may or may not happen in the future we tend to put it off - worldwide procrastination.
When Mr. Allen said this he was referring to America becoming greener, and implementing green solutions, so the challenges of the next generation have a less burdening task. Unfortunately, it seems that America has been leading this very shameful evolution of stripping resources, and when asked to deal with this problem, we ever-so-easily place it in the hands of tomorrow’s generations. Has our thinking become so clouded that the petty problems of today overshadow the life-changing challenges of tomorrow? It seems that this crisis in thinking has created a worldwide imbalance of priorities. Have we put short-term problems at the top of our 'to-do' list?
It’s unfortunate, because it seems we see this trend even in Washington. A graph in 2007 showed the amount of money it took to put 1 man on the moon, as compared to the amount of money given to promote clean energy. Quite easily, money to put man in space surpassed money for clean energy by tens of millions. In addition, only 2% of the 3,500 clean energy research proposals were accepted by Congress, an amount too small to begin the kind of green innovation Congress is looking for. And the small margin of proposals that were accepted came from large, established companies, whose voices have been heard much already.
So, I guess the really issue here is prioritizing long-term challenges. And getting America to go-along with this may be a challenge. However, some healthy competition may be the answer. China recently proposed new plans for massive clean energy developments and programs, becoming the world’s leader of clean energy. This kind of competition, much like the kind that prompted the US space race with Russia, may be what it takes for America to get serious about long-term thinking and the environment.
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Vicki- I read your blog on a whim because I try to circulate around and get a bit of whatever everybody is thinking, but I am so glad I did.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE LONG TERM THINKING.
It's my thing.
I don't stress about little stuff, if I blow off a homework assignment, it's not the end of the world. I like to think I have a very realistic attitude towards school in that every little piece doesn't matter, because if you take a few steps back you won't notice a minor mistake.
I liked how you spun it in a 'green' way. If you used my philosophy, then that would probably ruin the world. Which is not exactly what I was going for, but my personal long term thinking is obviously different from the national or global type of long term thinking.
I just am a huge fan of that post and that idea. I think it's an interesting and valid point that we as a people should read into more.
Vicki,
ReplyDeleteI remember hearing Mr. Allen's words about "long-term thinking" as well. I have to be honest, this scared me and really made me think about my future on this planet. I'm so used to living in Northbrook. I don't have to worry about making a living, how the environment's gradual destruction might affect me, etc. Yet.
Our lives are so comfortable as they are now. I think the reason we aren't making the necessary changes that need to be made is because we feel content with where we are. I have come to realize this is the main problem with our thinking. We wait until it gets so bad, that we have to make changes. For example, we are probably going to wait until an "environmental catastrophe" happens, and THEN we make laws completely regulating what we put into it.
There is not much we can do about this either. We can only hope that the government does what is best for us...