Reflections

I recently experienced the passage of my birthday-you know, not necessarily celebrated it, but noted it as yet another milestone in my life. I am neither ashamed nor particularly proud of my age, as it is, after all, a cultural marker at best. But birthdays seem to be a good time to reflect on where we've been, what we've done, and what we yet hope to achieve. These are some of the thoughts I put together that day; I'd like to read some of yours:

I am old enough to remember the excitement and awe surrounding John Glenn's first flight...and young enough to be excited about the idea of people living on Mars one day...and wise enough to hope that happens only after we handle our problems here on earth.

I am old enough to remember when we had three channels to choose from for viewing on television...and young enough to enjoy channel surfing through the oodles of channels these days...and wise enough to realize that quantity frequently is a poor substitute for quality.

I am old enough to have heard Martin Luther King, Jr. make his speeches...and young enough to see that no one has yet stepped into those wondrous shoes, although many have tried, the fit hasn't been close...and wise enough to realize that the zeal and determination that Reverend King possessed is not as rare as his love for all mankind and his insistence on nonviolence.

I am old enough to remember idioms like "children should be seen and not heard"...young enough to have told my kids about the phrase to explain how things have changed over the years-only to be laughed at by incredulous youngsters...and wise enough to believe that the best parenting practices fall somewhere between the extreme the idiom represents and the free-for-all non-disciplinarian or responsibility-lacking style employed by many today.

I am old enough to remember when the people who went to jail were true criminals in the elemental sense of the word...and young enough to note that we have a higher prison population per capita than any other "civilized" nation...that we now arrest and prosecute people for actions that just years ago were not considered criminal activity...that we still have laws on the books in some places making illegal certain types of sex acts between consenting adults...and hopeful enough that one day soon that we will learn the difference between punishment and rehabilitation...and that the war on crime begins...and ends...in the classroom.

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