What Will It Take To Advance? by Michael

What Will It Take To Advance? by Michael - March 2017 Scholarship Essay

There is a weakness in society that needs to be addressed. We as a people have given up on the research and development into technological advances. The populous has become complacent and narrow-minded when it comes to things that are all around us. The ultimate question is: What will it take to advance?
Stop and take a look around, wherever you might be. All around you, there are things that you see every day. In your kitchen you will most likely notice a microwave, in the garage there is an old cordless drill, and if you are outside you will probably see someone on an iPhone browsing the internet. These items are all fairly common among the population, but where did they come from? I’m not talking about the store or the factory or even the guy that wanted to watch cat videos on the go and developed the iPhone. I’m talking about where the fundamental idea for these fairly simple items came from.
They came from different competitive and innovative eras throughout history. Unfortunately, these eras stemmed from dark times and war when it was a competition of who could deal the most damage to the opposition. Through the darkness, we emerged with technologies that people had never dreamed of, but at what cost?
The Cold War had been going on for ten years until the Sputnik launch changed everything. This step for mankind was one of the greatest seeds of recent history. It marked the start of the Space Race. During which time the United States and Soviet Russia were at each others throats to see who could reach the moon first. In this time it was the primary goal of the people to support and promote the technological advances in order to reach the moon. In this, we developed the cordless drill for an astronaut to do repairs on a space station with ease. This major problem that they fixed ended up helping generations to come with numerous things. There is only one problem with this.
The Cold War was a time of fear and distrust among the world. People were being hunted for the suspicion of being a spy on either side. The neighbor you’ve had for years was now your number one suspect of selling secrets about your country. Some people didn’t even feel safe in their own households. People were even sent to prison or executed without concrete evidence supporting claims made against them. This dark veil covered the country for almost 45 years.
To go back to the question: what will it take to advance? What truly will it take for us to see that there is so much more to learn? Will it take another cold war? What about another World War? Will people need to lose their jobs, friends and family, or even their own lives for the next latest technological advance?
I don’t believe that it should. We already can look at our past and see that we are capable of “impossible” discoveries. All it takes is for the world to wake up and see what is sitting right in front of them. Stop fretting about the new iPhone and look to see how to mass desalinate the waters of Africa. Don’t be excited for but a moment when the “new” 4k TV comes out, instead be amazed at supersonic airplanes that are around the corner.
Answering my question is easier than most will see. It is simply, you.