There is a very funny video that’s been floating around on the internet recently. It depicts a woman in her 1979 kitchen making a steak, egg and toast breakfast for her husband. (The fact that she is waiting on him is funny enough.) He’s just about to sit down to eat it when out of their bathroom, in a flash of light and music, appears a time traveler who tells him not to eat it.
The time traveler has been to the future and had learned that eggs are bad for us because of the cholesterol. He disappears and then, right as the wife is about to toss the eggs into the garbage, the time traveler comes back to say “Wait, just don’t eat the yolks.” Over the course of the 5-minute video, the time traveler comes back several times to say there is new-from-the-future information that clarifies eggs as being not so bad for us, the changing views on the steak, the bread, exercise and genetics and everything on the poor guy’s plate.
The message is clear. Depending on the day and time, our view of the world can be very different than how we saw things even 10 minutes earlier.
From fats in our food to mercury fillings in our teeth, many of the things that we knew and counted on as being safe, real and true have evolved over time. What we knew for sure then is very different than what we know for sure now and is likely really different than we may know if the future.
Sometimes, if we wait long enough, the opinions will even come back around.
Due to the wonders of social media and the internet, membership in the Flat Earth Society has increased exponentially since its relaunch in the early 2000s. People who don’t believe the earth is round are gathering together to share their views that this whole round planet thing is just a hoax.
We look back and say “How barbaric,” when we think of some of the ways that we treated some medical conditions. In 2017, if your condition warrants it, you could be treated with leeches. You might be referred to electroconvulsive therapy. People are swearing by the daily use of essential oils like lavender and peppermint.
My parents owned the Culligan Water Conditioning franchise in State College for many years. When I was in college, Culligan “Topside,” as my dad used to call the corporate headquarters, gave each franchisee the opportunity to buy into the bottled water business. They saw the trend coming way back in the late 70s and early 80s. I remember my dad rolling his eyes at the idea that someone would be stupid enough to actually purchase water in bottles. However, because he didn’t want the Culligan name associated with negative customer service in his franchise area if someone else bought in, he agreed. Deliveries of water coolers (big bottles of water) and cases of individual bottles turned out to be a good business prospect – for a while anyhow. (He sold the business before he passed away). We now know the hazards of putting water in certain kinds of plastic, particularly when left in hot cars or otherwise left unattended for a period of time. We now know the impact of all of those plastic bottles on landfills and in our streams and oceans. Our perspective on bottled water has had significant changes and viewpoints.
Death. Taxes. Change. The only things in life we can truly count on.
I’ve been watching the recent public debate about statues and monuments with some consternation. We saw it happen right here in Happy Valley with a certain statue that came down under cover and with a lot of emotion and misinformation surrounding it. People at a certain time and place decide to recognize someone or something for making a contribution to society, based on current standards, traditions and mores. We put up a bronze or concrete monument in their honor. As time evolves, the lens with which we see that person becomes clouded with additional information or through the emotion and anger of something that is happening today. Suddenly we have mobs of people in city squares pulling down statues and public works departments taking them down under cover of darkness.
Lesson No. 1: Mob decisions or decisions made in the dark of night suggest reactions rather than common sense and a thoughtful process. If it’s time to make some changes, those discussions should be at conversation volume and in the light of day.
Lesson No. 2: Moving forward, it might be a good idea to really think before we name something after someone or erect a statue. Humans are rarely perfect and at some point in history, the decisions someone made or the people we applaud may today be seen as uninformed and illogical or even immoral. Let’s not cast those in stone or metal.
Lesson No. 3: If we’ve learned anything, it is how much we really don’t know.
Just look at the egg.
