Too Much Past and Not Enough Presence

The raging wildfires and the air quality fiasco that’s followed in this part of the world got me thinking about how bad the quality of the air was for us every single day in the 1970s.

Back when I was a small boy we had cars, sans catalytic converters, spewing toxic exhaust from leaded gasoline, cigarette smoke was literally everywhere, our elementary school still was heated with coal, and many communities still actively were spraying the extremely toxic chemical DDT to keep mosquitos at bay. It was especially hellish during the heat and humidity of summer when the pollutants would be trapped close to the ground.

The lesson in all this for me is not everything was better in the old days—if we can trust the statistics, in fact, a lot of things were worse here in the US:

• Violent crimes peaked somewhere in the 1990s and have dropped dramatically since.
• Major air pollutant levels have dropped 70-90% since the Clean Air Act was enacted in 1970.
• Waterways were more polluted. The Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio was so polluted it would routinely catch on fire between the 1950s and 1970s.
• Life expectancy was about 8% lower in the 70s than it is today.
• Car safety and traffic deaths have improved dramatically.
• We had much less access to information. Pre-internet most people were forced to rely on mainstream media news for their information.
• Lastly, discrimination and social inequality were greater.

I guess the key to all of this remains if we can trust the stats.

“Nostalgia is a curious liar. It robs a miserable day of its misery, polishes its dents, and hands it back to you as if it were a treasure.” — Vikram Pai

Granted, the world today is far from perfect.

We still face immense challenges and have much work ahead—especially in those dense urban areas. Progress is an ongoing process of evolution, and we should never stop learning or striving to improve, both as individuals and as a society. That said, most people would probably agree that many of the deepest problems we see today originate at the top. Finding ways to replace self-serving or sociopathic leaders with genuinely altruistic ones could be one of the most powerful shortcuts toward meaningful, lasting change.

As overwhelming as it can feel today to sift through competing theories and perspectives I still think we’re better off than we were before. Our senses and that very important, and often under-utilized, biological computer between our ears can help us discern truth from fiction. Air quality is one aspect that anyone living through the 1970s will tell you has clearly improved.

Can you even imagine all the ways in which having access to only mainstream network news would alter your perspective and prevent you from even seeking the truth? The internet has a way of shining a light on things that need to be improved, replaced, revamped.

“All negativity is caused by an accumulation of psychological time and denial of the present... Guilt, regret, resentment, grievances, sadness, bitterness... are caused by too much past, and not enough presence.” — Eckhart Tolle

Rosy-retrospection or nostalgia-bias is real and it tends to become an easier trap to fall into as we age. This explains why so many older folks can become bitter, jaded, and chronic complainers. As the quote from Vikram Pai cleverly states nostalgia bias contains detrimental risks far greater than making us jaded, it can keep us from seeing the present as it is can actually impede our evolution. As I get older, grayer, and hopefully wiser I’ll be trying like hell not to join that particular club.

All for now. Make this a wonderful day.