It will be all right

I had a chance to talk to a 14 year-old Chinese youth.  He was very friendly and talked freely of his experiences in the U.S. and China.  He was under no illusion as to life in China having what most would consider "less freedom" than the United States.  He accepted the Chinese way of life, of course.  It was his frame of reference for living.  He had only been in the U.S. for four months, so his knowledge was limited of how things work politically here.  But, he did know how things worked socially for 9th graders in a rich, private school.

I was encouraged by what he spoke of - his dreams for his future, his immediate life, his family.  It's the same as what any ninth grader would speak of.  He didn't really have any axes to grind.  He wasn't bitter about being a fish out of water for a while in his life.  He seemed really comfortable in his own skin.  He was confident, content, determined, and affable.

I don't really want to live life over just to see if I would do anything different from the way it happened.  But, talks with young people, especially from other countries, allow me to imagine what the future will hold.  People are just people, so in some ways the future will be the same as the present.  But, it seems that there will be a more concerted effort for working hard to make life better.  These young people aren't satisfied with the imperfections they see around them.  They want something better.  They want a safe world, a good world (as opposed to an evil one).  They want to excel, they want to take the world farther.  They certainly have my vote.  I'll be gone when they are running things.  But, I sleep easier at night.  My children and their children are headed for a grand future.