July 2018
Progress is built upon a belief that things improve once we admit our ignorance and invest in resources, such as research or technology, so that things can improve. It is this belief that has taken our society from what it was in the 1800s to where we are today.
Until fairly recently the general mindset was that progress was not possible. People generally believed that the best of times had passed and the best we could hope for was to delay deterioration. It was believed impossible to solve most problems.
Modern cultures changed all this. Scientific and technological discoveries made people believe in a better future as problem after problem became solvable. Discoveries allowed us to virtually eliminate starvation in many parts of the world through a combination of increased food production and social systems that provide basic necessities to those in need. Today more people are in danger of death from obesity than from starvation.
Such discovers and innovations allow us to delay death by solving many of the problems that cause it. A pacemaker can keep the heart beating while drugs can kill cancer or infections. Ailments that once required amputation can now be cured through use of antibiotics. Average life expectancy has increased from about 25 to 67, and nearly 80 years old in Canada. During this time infant mortality has dropped from nearly a third to well below 1 per cent. According to some, nanotechnology research may extend lives indefinitely unless individuals succumb to an accident.
Were is not for Benjamin Franklin’s discovery that lightning is an electric current we may not have discovered how to create the electricity that is essential to condo living.
Yet some condo communities choose to oppose both progress and change.
As with these major discoveries and innovations, condo communities that embrace progress find they can resolve whatever issues exist. These communities elect condo directors with a mindset toward progress rather than a desire to reside within a bubble where everything around them is changing. They have experienced condo owners prepared to serve as directors, and support directors even when their decisions for the common good may not support personal interests.
The challenge is to continuously strive to move the ball forward and find a better way of doing things.
