This is a fascinating essay. I take from it several kernels of wisdom. One is that change begins with us. If we are not willing to effect in our own lives the change we wish to see globally, then we are not really interested in change. We can't complain about government indifference, if we are indifferent in our neighborhoods and our families. We can't ask for a more fair-minded, socially positive government, if we do not act on these attitudes ourselves.
One thing that you mention in passing I'd like to emphasize. Education. You speak about teaching children to be kind and tolerant. I think education has an even more important role. I think if history was taught objectively and as an important subject, then citizens would make more intelligent decisions. If citizens were cognizant of the way social and political movements in the past have changed society, then they would make better choices.
If citizens knew about the hollow promises of autocrats and ideologies in the past, then perhaps they would hear the echo of those promises in people who make them today.
Long response to your blog, but I think you say a what many of us think about today. Just as you have evolved in the past, I'm sure you will continue to evolve. I know I'm still evolving, and I've been on this planet for 70+ decades.
I'm glad you liked the publication. I believe that people can learn to live better with their fellow man if they get a good education.
It is not easy to set priorities and decide what to teach in school. But the best thing would be to educate people who can think freely, who are able to analyze reality and draw their own conclusions. Maybe at some point this will be possible.
I recently reached seventy myself, a good number, hahaha.
Thank you very much for stopping by and for your support, dear @agmoore . A big hug from Maracay.
🌈
Seventy isn't so bad, is it?
I taught history for a few years. Early in the semester I would astonish the students by telling them not to believe me. I would tell them that, even if I thought I was telling the truth, I could be wrong. I would reinforce that message once a week by having newspaper day. I would bring in papers that editorialized from different political perspectives. I would show them how papers tried to influence opinion by where they placed stories, by the headlines that were featured, and even by the stories the papers chose to cover. The whole point of the lesson was for the students to think critically. Also, for them to understand that truth can be elusive.
Nice to make your acquaintance also, @irvinc