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New and improved

Roy Christman is a retired political science professor and has a farm in Pennsylvania.
 
 
 
 

Old cranky people (I'm looking in the mirror here) often complain about everything that has deteriorated since they were growing up. We tend to gloss over all the improvements we have witnessed.

Cars, for example, are safer, more fuel efficient, and easier to maintain than they were in 1950. When is the last time you put oil in your car? When is the last time you even checked the dipstick? A car parked beside the road with the hood up and steam pouring from an over-heated radiator is a rarity today.

It is no longer necessary to shift gears, pushing the clutch and "putting it in first," then second, then high. People who enjoy the sense of control provided by a manual shift now have trouble finding cars with what was once known as a "standard" transmission.

The windows roll up and down with the push of a button, the engine can be started remotely, and you can drive your Honda across Texas at 70 miles an hour indefinitely with no breakdowns. You can buy cars with heated seats to warm your butt. The gas mileage has improved and soon will not be measured when the motors run on electricity.

New cars have some downsides. It is certainly difficult to tinker with them. I once owned a '64 Dodge pickup with a gear mechanism that stuck. You could unstick it by raising the hood and banging on the connector with a hammer. No computer was necessary.

Now any little dent from a supermarket cart will probably necessitate the replacement of a whole panel costing hundreds of dollars. Nonetheless, I do not want to return to my '64 Dodge with its constantly leaking brake fluid.

Medical advancements are also amazing. If I had been born in 1842 instead of 1942 I would have mostly likely died of measles (I had a bad case), appendicitis, a very slow heart beat, and prostate cancer. What kept me alive were antibiotics, an appendectomy, a pacemaker, and radiation treatments. What keeps me from being immobile are two artificial hips and an artificial knee.

 

We've certainly made progress containing diseases common in my grandmother's time; three of her siblings died of diphtheria in one week. Smallpox, another killer, has been eliminated across the globe and polio has been eradicated in the U.S.

I am amazed by the number of people who reject scientific advances in the medical field. Religious reasons are sometimes cited, but far more common are conspiracy theories (Bill Gates will track you with a tiny transmitter injected with your Covid vaccine) or political beliefs (those pesky libs are sapping your bodily fluids).

I am equally amazed that many medical advancements are not available to my fellow citizens because of cost or for political reasons. Insulin prices have now been capped, but for years it has been far more expensive in the U.S. than in other countries. Life-saving medical care for pregnant women is denied in some states because of abortion restrictions.

Finally, recent advances in our ability to access information astounds me. Some years ago I bought the obsolete card catalog from the Palmerton Library. It contains thousands of library cards, a physical snapshot of the books once shelved there. Now patrons simply type in title or author or subject and the computer tells you if the library has the book. If not, the program can locate a copy in another library somewhere in Pennsylvania.

Encyclopedias that cost hundreds of dollars sit unsold at yard sales. Why bother with them when you can just go to Wikipedia, which I just did to ensure my polio information was correct. Incidentally, if you use Wikipedia and don't contribute to its annual fund drive, shame on you, you free rider. And if you are getting your info from Twitter or Facebook, double shame on you.

~ Roy Christman

 

 

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