by David D. Horowitz.
Each year many locations on Earth set new heating records. Our planet is heating; disastrous consequences loom; and many political leaders live in denial about it. Time is not on our side.
Each year, conflicts, born of ancient hatreds and nurtured grudges, simmer and sicken, like cancer which is hoped to be in remission but which suddenly relapses. Whether these hatreds and grudges involve large countries or street gangs or competing corporations, the threat they pose is imminent, profound, and seemingly ineradicable. Time is not on our side, especially in a world of proliferating nuclear weapons.
Yet, while time might not be on our side, we still need, perhaps paradoxically, to cultivate patience. Yes, patience—with people who don’t speak our native tongue. Patience—with people who don’t share our religious and theological perspective. Patience—with people who don’t know anything about other countries’ history. Patience—with older people challenged by having to adapt to new digital and computerized technologies. Patience—with younger people imitating cultural role models who prefer blaming to listening, fistfights to handshakes, and overnight fame to gradual skill-building. Patience—with ourselves for dropping plates, losing the house keys and our temper, and feeling stressed because the workload is crushing and the kids need expensive dental work, winter coats, and bicycles.
So, let’s strive to balance urgency about solving problems with patience, as problems are often complex, emotionally taxing, and expensive. And solutions, particularly to environmental and political challenges, are often elusive. Accrue data, solicit suggestions, articulate a thesis, test and test and revise and revise. Time is not on our side, but the patience necessary to succeed is. Ah, yes: balance, harmony, proportion. The Ancient Greeks emphasized these virtues. 2,500 years later, humanity is still here, and balance is still necessary. We’ve got some time yet—but none to waste.