A Mixed Bag

Suppose today we all received notice that the world would be coming to an end a year from now. My guess is a lot of us would be tempted to go out and take all our credit cards to the max. Others would probably finally muster up enough courage to tell our bosses what we really think of them. And then others would take a step back and begin reflecting on our history as a species - the good, bad and ugly; all that we accomplished, all that we ignored and/or harmed, etc. If nothing else, we are a species that places high value on achieving greater understanding of what goes on around us even if conclusions we sometimes draw do not make much sense or are way off-base.

What would we say about communication? What conclusions would we draw from how well we as living beings communicated in our thousands of years of existence? Did we do well? Could we have done better? Any regrets? How would the pluses and minuses stack-up? I do not have any specific answers to this questions other than to suggest such questions are worth addressing even though, as far as I know, this time next year the world will be continuing to spin on its axis and revolve around the sun. Reflection is a valuable exercise, one that should be carried out periodically no matter how positive or negative the conclusions.  

From my perspective, at present, the scorecard regarding our efforts to communicate shows a fairly close match. Without question, the technological advances regarding communication have been amazing. The fact that we have advanced to the point of each of us having the ability to connect with others throughout the world almost instantly is a remarkable achievement. But then there is the matter of how effectively we communicate with each other. After all these years, are we connecting with each other as well as we should? How good of a job are we doing at interacting in ways that foster respect and greater understanding and appreciation? Communication-wise, I see our history as a mixed-bag. Lots to build on. Lot to improve upon.