Last night, while the Wife and I were out to dinner with some friends, we were told a funny story about their children’s reactions to smoking. Apparently, when their 5 year old and 7 year old come across a smoker they grab their parents and quietly implore them to “check out what that man is doing.” They point this out in hushed voices, imitating the tone one would take to identify a criminal in the act or possibly a person with a third eye. It should be noted that these friends of ours are health conscious vegetarians and would therefore be considered unlikely to expose their children to cigarettes enough for them to be normal. However, it is still noteworthy, especially in broader terms, that a generation is coming of age in which smoking may be considered not just gross, but odd enough to warrant the same reaction a person walking down the street with a gun in one hand a bag of money in the other might. This may not mean that smoking will disappear anytime soon, but it does suggest that we are witnessing a general trend toward the phasing out of it’s acceptance in our country.
This got me thinking of the general progression of trends in this country and the relatively uniform life so many lead. I remember as a kid having a conversation with my Grandma about why she smoked. “When I was young,” she recalled, “no one knew it was bad for you. Doctors smoked, teachers smoked. We just didn’t know.” Even as a kid this baffled me. How could something so toxic escape trained, intelligent people? What were the massively high rates of heart disease and lung cancer attributed to? But the reality is that the story of smoking is similar to nearly every other technological or cultural development we have. When something first arrives on the scene and nothing is known of it, it is just assumed to be benign.
For years opiates were considered to be a wonderful solution to a plethora of ailments. We now know them as perhaps the most addictive and dangerous narcotics on the planet. Eggs used to be considered the cornerstone of a healthy breakfast. We now know them to be dangerously high in cholesterol and a leading cause of Type 2 diabetes. Mercury used to line hats worn by the most fashionable men of the time. This eventually gave us the character of the “Mad Hatter”.
Of course this list can go on and on and the many items once thought to be benign or even healthy range from understandable to laughable. But this is the story line of progress, of discovering innovative new products and then discovering their value or danger through trial and error. We laugh at previous generations for being simple or uneducated enough to think of things like smoking or cars with no seatbelts as healthy or safe but the truth is that our modern perceptions are merely based on subsequent years of experience and consequence.
All of this makes me wonder as to what future generations will shake their head at in disbelief when told that we thought something was “safe” or “healthy”. Years from now will they wonder what we thought we were doing spending so much time on cell phones? Didn’t we know they caused brain cancer? What about alcohol? Will that someday be thought of in the same way as cigarettes? Take a look at a liver suffering from cirrhosis, it is not a benign habit. Will we be laughed at for our consumption of red meat? How about prozac and similar pills?
My point in all of this is that we have this tendency to think that our generation represents the smartest and most advanced group of people in the history of the planet. But deep down we know that in time we are bound to be laughed at, to be thought simple or shortsighted people. It is the flip side of progress, the very engine that drives the American spirit. It implies that one day, years from now, progress will make us look small and feeble, no matter how mighty we may feel today. What will we be laughed at for or what will have us labeled us as simple and backwards? I look forward to your guesses, maybe collectively we will have the power to speed up the progress and prevent the people we love from falling victim to the same trap so many have already succumbed to.
