86

PRENOTE: This post is strictly to encourage personal reflection.  I recommend also the commentaries of SAK and Jeff, which I’ve included together in a May 3 post here.   Both are long-time participants on this list, and their comments came on May 1 and 2.  I encourage other reflections to be included as posts particularly in the coming weeks.  How about yours?

1949 at Busch farm near Berlin North Dakota. Richard (Dick) oldest kid, 9, is at left on second horse, . Uncle Vince, then 24, is at far left.Four Bernard and two Pinkney cousins on the horses.  The other man is not known.

Today is my 86th birthday, not a particularly noteworthy event, except today is two months to the day from the 250th birthday of the republic of the United States of America “if you can keep it” (Benjamin Franklin, Sep 18, 1787).

The 250th birthday of my United States takes precedence over my birthday, today.

This came most clearly to mind for me on March 29, 2026, when I and nearly 20 family members attended the wedding of my Marine grandson.  Spencer and his bride Megan are in their mid-20s.

It occurred to me, then, that  I was two months from age 60 when Spencer was born in 2000.

Flowing from that was the realization that the future is for Spencer and Megan’s generation to positively build forward.  My own time is limited.  The future always falls to the young.

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My thumbnail review of US history follows, hoping to encourage your own thinking from your own individual perspective.

To facilitate my own thinking I decided on the below graphic  to help me along, and I share it with you.

Succinctly, I have lived almost exactly one-third of the history of the United States of America.

It made personal sense to divide the history of our country into thirds.  The smaller box labeled “NOW” is the most recent history.  For me, I’d say this is since 2000.  For you…?  I made a pdf of this sheet if you wish to print out: Reflection at 250 years

The approximate population of the U.S. at the breakpoints: 1776 – 2.4 million; 1859 – 31.4 million; 1942 – 135 million; 2026 – 349 million.  In 1942 the world population was about 2.2 billion; in 2026 – 8.3 billion.

I’ve written about my own past, including family history. Everyone’s history is unique.  Here are some very brief snips about the U.S.

U.S. PAST: In my opinion, the first third of our 250 years was the time of founding and expansion, with the blessings and curses, generosity and meanness that accompany every history of every person and nation.  The middle third was the time of internal chaos as we evolved and struggled through phases.  For example, every single one of my mentors in life experienced directly the Great Depression and World War II, which left indelible marks on them and subsequently their mark on me from the time I was born (1940).

The most recent third has been a confusing time in many ways.  There has essentially been constant War, from WWII, to the Cold War, to, now, Iran, on and on.  War sells.  At the same time, my third has seen the birth and survival of the United Nations and NATO, and other coalitions which have diminished the tendency to spend our time killing each other.  Right now, the struggle is which mindset will survive.

My most recent PRESENT, which I count as my retirement years since 2000, has been a time of almost constant tension and political and social division.

It is nature to challenge relationships between youth and elders.   Today, to an unprecedented degree,  we have more ways to communicate less.  It was not long ago that “drone” meant flying a model plane with remote radio control.  That was it.  “High tech” when I was 25 (1965) is laughably primitive today.  Todays could be laughably primitive 50 years from now….  Or we may no longer exist.  We desperately need to focus on the future of everyone, not just ourselves.

The technological revolution as I mark it began with Facebook (2004), YouTube (2005), Twitter (2006), iPhone (2007).  Most recently is the explosion of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The current name of the game is power and control, which ultimately always end up destroying rather than benefitting the vast majority of affected citizens, including those with the power.  We never seem to learn.

When we were young, we faced the same dilemmas as today, but not to the extent existing in todays world.  The FUTURE has to be up to the young people, and judging from personal experience and observation it will be a hard transition, but not because todays youth are different than my generation. was – they aren’t.  Their lives are more complex.

The “good old days” when I grew up were really not so good if viewed from a younger persons perspective these days.  But old days did have their benefits – we grew up less likely to take things for granted.  This is for Grandpa and Grandma conversations.  We probably learn more from adversity than from prosperity.

Today, as has always been true, we don’t need unity of 100%, not even 10%.  Luckily for the future there are as many kids now as then who want to make a positive difference.  Now is the time.

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The below illustration shows the original 48 of the almost complete United States

Here’s the National Geographic presentation of the U.S. from 1750-1800, as presented in their 1988 Historical Atlas of the United States. U S History timeline (2) Nat Geo 1750 – 1800

Inside front cover of”A Diplomatic History of the American People” by Thomas A. Bailey copyright 1964. Does not include Alaska or Hawaii (statehood Jan 3 and Aug 29, 1959)

Personally:

I have always considered myself an optimist and, as I state in the right hand column with every post, I’m a moderate pragmatic Democrat.  At the same time, on April 18 at this space, in a column about Cuba, I began the column with these words:  “A year ago today we were about half way through the first 100 days of DJT’s second term.  Speaking only for myself, back then I was suspecting the worst, but in retrospect I was grossly underestimating the reality to come, and we’re only in the second year.”

I have said, every time the topic comes up, that we, the people, all of us collectively, own the results we are living with now.  We’re a Democratic Republic and we voted for what we’re enduring, which will likely get much worse as time goes on.  We sentenced ourselves to an outcome that will benefit nobody in the long run, including those who are now in power.

We collectively can remedy this, but we have to be, as Gandhi said, the change we wish to see in our country and our world.

If you’ve read this far, you are interested in positive change.

Below is the Presidential vote in the 2024 election.  Where is your “dot” in those numbers, including for all other elections that year as well, local, state and national.  Why did you make your mark as you did?  What will you do in coming months to change the status quo?  The ball is totally in each of our court.

COMMENTS (more at end)

from Brian: