I read something recently that was mindboggling: As of July 2, we are closer to the year 2050 than we are to the year 2000. Once I confirmed the math – it’s correct if you count from Dec. 31, 2000 – I was left dizzy. A whole generation has passed in a blink, and it’s easy to feel like we are living in dire times. Climate change, political turmoil, threats of global warfare, economic uncertainty, runaway technology – the next 25 years can seem overwhelming. But if you look backward rather than forward, a different picture emerges. In many ways what we are experiencing is not the exception but the norm. And that gives me hope. Why? History is full of upheaval. Every 25-year stretch is marked by seismic shifts. 1900-1925: The First World War; the collapse of empires and rise of communism and fascism; a global flu pandemic. 1926-1950: A stock market collapse and Great Depression; World War II; polio outbreaks; the advent of nuclear weapons and the Cold War. 1951-1975: The Korean and Vietnam wars; civil rights struggles; political assassinations; fears of overpopulation and famine. 1975-2000: Regional wars in the Gulf and the Balkans; drug wars in the U.S. and Central America; the HIV/AIDS crisis; nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. And then came the 25 years we just lived through. When the Y2K scare fizzled and I came to work on Jan. 2, 2000, there were no iPhones, no widespread social media, no Uber or DoorDash. Netflix? It was DVDs that came in the mail. It seems like a simpler time. But then we had 9/11, which changed our national psyche forever and led to America’s longest war. The 2008 financial crisis. The election of our first Black president – which sparked celebration and backlash. We faced a global pandemic, cultural spasms over race and gender and sexuality, political polarization and a digital revolution that has changed how we live, work and relate to one another. With a 24/7 news cycle and social media amping news into crises, it's easy to feel like things are spinning out of control. But if you zoom out, you realize every generation has stood at the edge of the unknown and faced challenges that seem insurmountable. And yet, we’ve always found a way forward. In each crisis, there has been progress: vaccines and medical advances, space exploration, civil rights gains and technologies that lived only in science fiction decades ago. There are dark sides to the internet and social media, but they have also connected families, democratized information, and provided opportunities for creators and small businesses. We’ve avoided a doomsday war, lifted millions out of poverty, made everyday life more convenient, and connected countries and cultures in ways we could have never imagined. So yes, the future is uncertain. It always has been. But that doesn’t spell doom. When the present feels overwhelming, I think of something the late radio commentator Paul Harvey said: “In times like these, it is helpful to remember there have always been times like these.” That perspective doesn’t erase our problems, but it reminds us that we’re not uniquely burdened. We’re part of a long, unbroken string of human challenges, inventions and advances. How do you want to shape this ongoing story? You have a choice in how you view the world and how you participate in it. I wish at times it was less tumultuous. But then again, it never has been. # # # | 