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[Savannahmann]

233. All things can change.

Over the life of this planet. Mountains have been thrust into the sky by forces we can barely imagine. Those mountains have eroded away to nothing. Huge glaciers swept out from the poles, crushing things beneath their immense weight, and then melted away to become lakes, streams, oceans. Change in the form of atrophy is one of the constants of the universe.

People can change. A hundred years ago, women did not have the right to vote. Now, generally speaking, we as a people see women as the equal of men in most every field of endeavor. Women fly jet fighters. Women are at the upper levels of management. Many women have risen to the pinnacle of a nations Government. We have had and continue to have Women Governors, women doctors, lawyers, and every other range of human activity. In World War II, we would not have been able to accomplish a fraction of what we did without strong and intelligent women pitching in. Women flew aircraft on long and dangerous shuttle flights. Women mathematicians did the calculations to create artillery charts. Women worked on the Manhattan project.

Attitudes changed, in many people during their lifetimes. I know, during the short span of our lives, change seems to come very slowly. Sometimes not at all.

So let's talk about a change that happened during my lifetime. In the 1980's, I walked with those who were arguing for AIDS funding. The disease barely had a name then, often just called the Grip. Homosexuals were shunned by society at large. The Homosexual community had to hide in fear of being targeted for retributions. Today, homosexuals can be far more open, and those who express opinions contrary to the live and let live variety are often the ones who suffer the retributions. Gay Marriage and thus total equality is not yet a thing of accepted fact, but I have every reason to believe it is coming. This is during my lifetime, one lifetime and look at all that change so far. Yes we have more to go, but it takes time for people to examine their beliefs, and consider what they have heard. Nothing changes immediately, and nothing should change immediately. We are humans, and we should take such changes slowly, carefully, making sure we have considered it as much as humanly possible. Because if we were so quick to change, like a military formation turning left, then who knows where we would be right now. The radical changes we experienced after 9-11 speak highly for this slow and steady progress model, because reactionary changes never turn out good for any of us.

So yes, I believe that people can change, I've seen them do so. Yes, I believe that individuals can change as time and experience join to form wisdom in the minds of the people.