Our physicians and surgeons offer us therapies that were the stuff of science fiction barely a decade ago. Even our children's toys incorporate lasers, sophisticated software and powerful microprocessors. We use ATMs and CDs every day, but we do not always know or remember the basic research and incremental breakthroughs that made them possible. Our embrace of technology and a faster pace of living has brought with it a certain cynicism about life in our nation. The cynic sees contemporary social problems and concludes that the more things change, the more they stay the same, that technological progress is a veneer covering chronic, unaddressed issues.
Cynicism is double danger.
It looks back on history with an instinctive sourness, and it looks forward without hope or expectation. Cynicism robs us of the encouragement we should find in our achievements and of the vision we need to continue making progress. I believe we have done more than invent mere gadgets over the decades. We participate in a society that is far more diverse and more inclusive than it was in the 1960s. We are healthier and longer-lived, with access to an astonishing array of options for medical diagnosis and treatment.