We all bring our children into the world with much excitement and joy, but then (probably) spend the rest of our lives worrying...will they fall over, will they hurt themselves, how will they do at school, will they get the right job, will they marry the right person. Will they stay fit and healthy. But at least we can feel that we know the world that we're letting them into. But it does look as though that is all changing.
The banks are one of the main pillars of society as we know it, and the collapse of the banking system could see the biggest step towards a socialist state that we've seen since the creation of the National Health Service some sixty years ago (maths never was a strong point).
The self-destruction of Parliament at the moment could equally see a vast and long-lasting impact on democracy in this country. We know now it's a rotten system and the ruling class have taken it upon themselves to make the most of it. Trust in all areas of society has been on the decline for many a year, and this can only be another nail in the coffin.
If you take the police as the front line of law and order, the many, many scandals (of which their behaviour during G20 is just one) in recent times means that many people have little faith in the fairness of the men in blue.
It certainly feels that the people who should protect us, in fact have an inbuilt loathing of the people they are meant to serve. If you look at the behaviour of many councils and their agents, that re-inforces my argument.
Traditional values and societal norms are undergoing rapid change across the UK. Change is not necessarily a bad thing, but what was once a strong framework for people to feel secure and safe is now ill-defined and for many slightly threatening...very for some people.
Around the world, we are seeing a new world order. Sixty years ago it was the decline and fall of the British Empire, now it is the US that must manage its own decline in a way that wiull not come easily to a nation so full of self-confidence - good luck Mr Obama. A world dominated by China and India will be a very different beast, and we'll all need to get used to that. And at some stage, Russia will take its place properly on the world stage.
Once upon a time if we wanted to listen to music, we pulled up a seat at the piano, or more recently switched on the radio. Now we can listen to it on FM, AM DAB, the internet, the TV our iPod. But it's rarely just about pushing a button we have to download it, stream it or re-record it. Music has moved from being a precious commodity to being disposable wallpaper. TV that was once just watched is now interacted with, it can be paused, played, rewound and fast-forwarded. We might all be couch potatoes, but we have very fit fingers.
Once the land of plenty, we find that the excesses of our generation and that of our parents means the valauable commodities such a oil which we all took for granted are running thin...even water is in short supply and predicted to be the main cause of war in the next 100 years. At least that will make a change from religion which has provoked conflict since time eternal. And the excessive use of natural resources is leading to an environmental disaster that our politicians are afraid to tackle for fear of damaging the economy.
Whilst half the world starves, the other half will die younger through obesity, particularly sad when there is enough food available to feed everyone a good meal everyday. As our lives extend, we find that the short sharp illnesses of old are replaced by chronic diseases that paralyse us either mentally or physically. Or both. So now we can play God with impunity and take our own lives at a Swiss clinic.
As the quality of our material lives has improved, the disenfranchised see more and more brutal violence as the way forward, so the rich and middle-class live in terror behind their gated estates.
I wonder what the boy's great-grandmother would make of it all. Not much I guess. She saw the birth of the motor car, once a force for good, now not. She didn't foresee computers or the internet, and thought all great things had been invented in her lifetime.
From a world of certainty, when I was born, we have moved to a world where nothing is certain. Change has got faster and faster, and it becomes a challenge even for the young to keep up, let alone those with even a single grey hair. How will this be when the boy is my age. I wish I knew. The boy is (of course) still finding delight, surprise and enchantment in this brave new world, although he can sometimes hide it behind a fog of teen angst. Me? I think it's quite exciting too...we have a great opportunity for change...and as the eternal optimist I think it can be for the better.
