Progress

As a new year approaches, I find myself reflecting on the past as well as preparing for the future. I have yet to sit and write out any personal resolutions, but they are certainly on my mind.

Today while reading in The Economist (I do this maybe once in a blue moon), I discovered an article on the idea of progress titled "Onwards and Upwards" (the issue's cover article). The article examines the idea of progress on a global scale. This caused me to reflect on what our nation's resolutions might be--political ideals aside.

I'm sharing an excerpt from the article that I found interesting and quite relevant. As part of the generation that will lead our nation's efforts for progress, this is an idea that I think will be extremely valuable:


"... The very idea of [moral sensibility] sounds quaint and old-fashioned, but it is the subject of a powerful recent book by Susan Neiman, an American philosopher living in Germany. People often shy away from a moral view of the world, if only because moral certitude reeks of intolerance and bigotry. As one sociologist has said "don't be judgmental" has become the 11th commandment.

"But Ms. Neiman thinks that people yearn for a sense of moral purpose. In a world preoccupied with consumerism and petty self-interest, that gives life dignity. People want to determine how the world works, not always be determined by it. It means that people's behaviour should be shaped not by who is most powerful, or by who stands to lose and gain, but by what is right despite the costs. Moral sensibility is why people will suffer for their beliefs, and why acts of principled self-sacrifice are so powerful. ...

"Ms. Neiman asks people to reject the false choice between Utopia and degeneracy. Moral progress, she writes, is neither guaranteed nor is it hopeless. Instead, it is up to us."


Since coming to DC, I've learned a new meaning of the word transparent--that is transparency as it promotes good governance. The article, though briefly cited above, actually gives many references to government and its hindrance or benefits to progress. There is nothing more valuable to a society than transparency in government. We, as a society, want and need a moral compass. Our government should also hold to a standard of morality based on the unalienable rights in our charters of freedom. I hope that in my lifetime our government will be able to fully meet this standard, though I know it will be largely by the efforts of our generation. I do not mean that we will all become politicians or government workers. More importantly, I mean that all of our citizens should become active participants in our democratic system and that is the only way we will be able to bring about the progress we wish to see. It seems we have our work cut out for us.

beck