(no subject)

I was feeling a bit despairing of the state of the world as I drove this morning. Some of the news on NPR made me worry about whether my going to school will allow me to make a difference in terms of promoting understanding between people. That's really what I want to do in pursuing the education that I want. I found myself worrying, too, about the major restructuring of society that I believe is a possible consequence of the end of cheap energy in the form of as much petroleum as we can use. Will the framework necessary for me to be effective at making the world a little better place still be there when I finish my time in school preparing to do it? Is there something else I should be doing instead?

I suppose wanting to make a difference in the way people understand each other requires a certain faith in humanity wanting to understand each other better. Not so different from having faith that my skillset will be applicable once I have it.

-----------

People are good. I helped my ex-coworker's mother here put a belt on her vaccuum cleaner and she not only thanked me effusively and kissed the back of my hand (How cool is that?! No one's ever done that as a genuine gesture of appreciation or respect before and I felt more than a little self-conscious.) but now she's making me a cheeseburger. That makes me happy.