Recently every form of media has been including pieces on the "The Best ### of the Decade" or the "Top Ten #### of the Decade." Why do people have such a need to divide up time, to chronicle and categories humanity's accomplishments achievements.
Every list I have seen has been about success - best technology, Usain Bolt as the fastest human, the most popular music. But what happened to the trends that fell by the wayside? Who had the most disappointing appearance in the Olympics? Which movie had the least profit? How many marine animals suffocated as a result of ingesting trash? By what percentage did we increase the hole in the ozone layer? How much larger is the United States carbon footprint - or better yet, how much larger is China's? Which country's mortality rate grew the most? Which country had the lowest GDP throughout the past decade?
It is only by looking at the failures of the past decade that we will understand what remains to be accomplished. There has been achievement, but there has been suffering: from September 11, to the War in Iraq, to the tsunami in South East Asia, to Katrina, to the earthquake in Iran, to the War in Afghanistan, to Israel-Lebanon War, to the more recent disappearance of the Air France flight over the Atlantic.
If we don't look at our past failures, not only will the achievement gap increase, but so too will the disparities between the rich countries and the poor countries, and as the disparity grows, so will the worlds' nations' ability to work together. Life is not fair, the world is not fair, but one can always make a difference.
Perhaps throughout the next decade, as the baby boomers' children come of age and graduate college, a change will happen. Citizens sick of war and bad decision-making will set out on paths prepared to repair the world. And the world does need repairing -- if not to create peace and to demilitarize our nations, then to begin to diminish countries' carbon footprint, helping to enforce sustainability.
They have said time and time again that it is up to my generation to save the world, to change it, to repair it. Our decade has finally arrived, and with college around the corner, I can finally say I'm ready.
