Warp Speed

The news cycle, and the pure volume of news, has increased to the point that no journalist can maintain the pretense of staying truly informed. Technology delivers stories faster than we can process them.

Is anybody better informed? Or are we all suffering various degrees of "Future Shock," i.e., information overload.

It always helps, in life, to know what you actually believe. To have principles. As an old country song goes, "you gotta stand for something or you'll fall for anything."

We are living in a time when one essential struggle is how to maintain idealism and hope in the face of an alienating pace of change. Today, I learned of one small grassroots group, where people are trying to do the right thing on behalf of clients who really need their help. But the group itself appears to be in the midst of changes that are undermining the commitment of some of those it needs the most, if it is to carry out its mission.

The irony of this does not escape those of us who are older, because we have seen similar outcomes too many times. But a younger generation of idealistic activists may be at risk, as they too confront these hard lessons.

Given the over-stimulation of their environment, with instant electronic communication options in the hands of all, and so many media messages bombarding them that they can hardly sort out how they really feel about anything, it may not be a surprise that they would easily choose to quit, rather than stay and fight.

But no social change worth discussing has ever been won without a struggle. Any honest history of progressive movements in America makes this clear. It's time for the latest generation of activists to read these books, or talk to those of us who were there. Older friends have a perspective that can help you.

Nothing came easily. All advances came with a cost -- in blood, sweat, tears, and self-doubt. The last is the most toxic factor of all: whether in fact any of us, or what we do, matters.

What do you, dear readers (if I have any) think?