Increasing the odds of a better world for our kids

You’re disillusioned and I get it. You’ve grown up in a crappy time — Iraq, the financial crisis, Trump, George Floyd, the pandemic, a widespread sense that you won’t be as well off as your parents.

But I grew up in a crappy time, too. I’m old enough to remember the assassinations of 1968. Over the next few years, Americans experienced defeat in Vietnam, crime rates beginning to surge and the hollowing out of cities, the energy crisis, wages beginning to decline, stagflation and Watergate. David Brooks, NYT, March 30, 2023

Like many parents and grandparents, I am concerned about the state of the world my offspring will need to navigate.  As I read, watch, and doom-scroll the news, I feel less impending dread about today, for myself but more a sense of hopelessness and helplessness for the younger members of my family. Climate change, political divisiveness, growing national debt, weakening social safety nets, developing world diasporas, and (the latest) maturing sentient AI that will soon master “Sorry, Dave, I can’t do that” all feel very threatening indeed.

So I was happy to read the always thoughtful David Brooks’s opinion piece quoted above. In it he argues that this country has always swung from periods of instability back to those of growth and prosperity - and that we are entering a more positive time. I sense he is right.

We also tend to compare our circumstances to those living near us chronologically. Despite the “existential threats” we are facing, I have always been glad not to have been born  in times of plagues, Mongol invasions, trench warfare, human slavery, or outhouses with corn cobs instead of toilet paper. 

Factfullness by Hans Roling reminds readers that the human condition has been improving world-wide and that income, health, and peacefulness are all better than they ever have been in human history. Pinker’s Better Angels of our Nature argues that human violence is at its all time lowest. The US is working diligently to reduce racism, homophobia, and religious intolerance despite the ravings of a few political outliers. 

What as parents and grandparents can we personally do to increase the likelihood of the world becoming a better place for future generations rather than one that is worse? 

• Think long-term. As I write this, the newspapers’ front pages are of little but Trump’s appearance in court. In a couple years, few will remember what all the stink was about. What will we still be concerned about? Climate change. Income inequities. Crime rates. Clean drinking water. Political stability. Actions, including the choice of political leaders to vote for, should be done with long-term issues in mind.

• Remember even small actions count. My choice of what car to buy, how much food I throw away, whether I recycle, if I pick up the litter I find on hiking trails, how many hours I volunteer, what charitable organizations I contribute to (and how much), all seem but small waves in a maelstrom of world problems. But I make these decisions and take these actions for my grandchildren as much as for the current community.

• Build resilience. No matter how bad the world becomes, there will still be those who will survive and thrive. Or at least have better odds of doing so. I have always felt it was important to take my kids and grandkids on adventures that test their stamina - especially good, strenuous hikes. In school and in Scouts, they learned that work and perseverance are necessary for success. Tough times may well call for tough people. And they can be tough when necessary.

• Educate your own children. Both my kids have college degrees and my grandsons are both on the path for getting them. While college degrees help vocationally most of the time, they also give an expanded view of the world and an introduction (and perhaps tolerance) to a variety of viewpoints and empathy for those in less fortunate circumstances. A college education is not necessary for all people. But education is.

• Be financially responsible. My children’s lives will be easier if they don’t have to worry about me in my rapidly encroaching dotage. While neither will receive a heck of a lot of monetary inheritance (unless that Nigerian banker comes through), neither should they find it necessary to pay for my care. I spend a good deal of my retirement income on travel and will continue to do so, but I will do so, at least somewhat responsibly.

Are you concerned about the world we are leaving for future generations? How do you individually act to make it more probable your kids’ world will be better, not worse? Or do you even worry about it? Curious minds want to know.