I think I missed a cog.  I’m trying to remember why bigger is better, why new ideas are now always preferable to the “tried and true,” and why being in a constant state of turmoil and uncertainty is a good thing.  Have we completely given up the idea of “STOP and smell the roses?”  Do we really need to start babies reading in the womb?  For heaven’s sake, what is the big rush???

Granted, there is a lot out there to learn about.  But there always has been.  Once upon a time, even within my memory, it was a fine thing for each person to pursue that which interested him/her most.  If a degree of expertise was gained along the way, we clapped and cheered and consulted if we needed to know beyond our own interests.  We didn’t need to know it all.  And we didn’t need to go to college or even trade school if we were lucky enough to be mentored by an expert.

But this rush toward “more” has ever been so, I am afraid.  I recently re-read a few of Ellis Peters’ Brother Cadfael Chronicles — mysteries set in 12th century in England between about 1135 and about 1145 during “The Anarchy,” the destructive contest for the crown of England between King Stephen and Empress Maud.  On re-reading the final (20th) book in the series, Brother Cadfael’s Penance, this sentence stuck with me:  Any end that will let men live, and till their fields, and ride the roads and ply their trades in safety, is to be desired above any monarch’s right and triumph.

A commentary on the chaos of nearly 1,000 years ago!  For all our desires to make “progress,” we haven’t come all that far, have we?