The Future is Ours to Take

But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded.  - 2 Chronicles 15:7

Days back, I came across a speech given by the former US President, Barrack Obama to the Graduating student of Rutgers University Last year, 2016. The speech really makes sense and its what I want everyone who has uncertainity about the future to read.

Some exrcepts from the speech goes thus:

Barrack Obama:

Facts, evidence, reason, logic, an understanding of science -- these are good things. These are qualities you want in people making policy.  These are qualities you want to continue to cultivate in yourselves as citizens.
But if you were listening to today's political debate, you might wonder where this strain of anti-intellectualism came from.
In politics and in life, ignorance is not a virtue. It's not cool to not know what you're talking about. That's not keeping it real, or telling it like it is. That's not challenging political correctness.  That's just not knowing what you're talking about. And yet, we've become confused about this.  

 Look, our nation's (US) Founders -- Franklin, Madison, Hamilton, Jefferson -- they were born of the Enlightenment.  They sought to escape superstition, and sectarianism, and tribalism, and no-nothingness.  They believed in rational thought and experimentation, and the capacity of informed citizens to master our own fates.  That is embedded in our constitutional design.  That spirit informed our inventors and our explorers, the Edisons and the Wright Brothers, and the George Washington Carvers and the Grace Hoppers, and the Norman Borlaugs and the Steve Jobses.  That's what built this country.  
               
And today, in every phone in one of your pockets -- we have access to more information than at any time in human history, at a touch of a button.  But, ironically, the flood of information hasn't made us more discerning of the truth. In some ways, it's just made us more confident in our ignorance. We assume whatever is on the web must be true.  We search for sites that just reinforce our own predispositions. Opinions masquerade as facts.  The wildest conspiracy theories are taken for gospel.

But when our leaders express a disdain for facts, when they're not held accountable for repeating falsehoods and just making stuff up, while actual experts are dismissed as elitists, then we've got a problem. 
You know, it's interesting that if we get sick, we actually want to make sure the doctors have gone to medical school, they know what they're talking about.    If we get on a plane, we say we really want a pilot to be able to pilot the plane.   And yet, in our public lives, we certainly think, "I don't want somebody who's done it before."    The rejection of facts, the rejection of reason and science -- that is the path to decline.  It calls to mind the words of Carl Sagan, he said:  "We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depths of our answers, our willingness to embrace what is true rather than what feels good."
 
Look, I'm not suggesting that cold analysis and hard data are ultimately more important in life than passion, or faith, or love, or loyalty.  I am suggesting that those highest expressions of our humanity can only flourish when our economy functions well, and proposed budgets add up, and our environment is protected.  And to accomplish those things, to make collective decisions on behalf of a common good, we have to use our heads.  We have to agree that facts and evidence matter.  And we got to hold our leaders and ourselves accountable to know what the heck they're talking about.

I hope you enjoyed the speech excerpts so far.... The future is ours to take.

Thank God its Friday, Good Day and have a great day.