The Arrogance of the Present

Through my study of physics I learned many fundamental concepts not just about how the universe works but how to figure out correct and consistent answers to important questions in life. Perhaps one of the most important lessons came when a professor, perhaps seeing in me an ego that needed to be checked, cautioned me to always be mindful of the arrogance of the present. He explained that throughout history every generation has looked upon the past as if it were separate from their time, as if the current state of knowledge so far surpassed what came before that the world was a different place – a better place – where all the mistakes had been corrected and perfection sat merely a hand’s-breadth away. When Copernicus showed that the earth revolved around the sun, all who accepted it shook their head at the ignorance and stupidity of those who had believed the opposite. When Newton came up with the Universal Law of Gravity, a new generation felt even more superior, certain they had achieved the final and complete answer to the question of the Heavens. Einstein came along and proved them nothing better than scryers casting stones for divination and the modern physicists sat back to enjoy the end of their field as all answers to every question must surely be forthcoming. But even Einstein didn’t see the complexity and accuracy of Quantum Chromo Dynamics which followed, only to be improved or replaced with Super Symmetry and String Theory. Every leap that has taken us forward has led no closer to the end of the matter and when we look back we see that it has all been a continuum of improvement. The present might be the latest rung, the highest point yet achieved, but it is no different in composition or quality than every other step below and will undoubtedly be surpassed before our very eyes. We are not removed from those who held such silly thoughts but are merely the future’s past, and any other thought is not only arrogant but harmful to the cause of advancement.

This same theme, the separation of the present from the past and overestimation of our current enlightenment, is equally prevalent, and perhaps more significant, in social realms as in scientific ones. While it is common to look to the past for lessons to learn or mistakes to avoid, the standard warning is to know history so not to repeat it. The truth is we are still living in that history – it hasn’t ended; we’re in the middle of most of those mistakes. The issue of race relations is a perfect example. We can all see now our country was in error when it laid its foundation on slavery, but the arrogance of the present says that was a past problem, not a current dilemma. We are different now. Better. Racism might still exist among the backwards folks who haven’t learned any better, but some people still think the sun revolves around the earth so what are you going to do. The real people, the ones who count, have moved beyond race.

But isn’t that what the thinkers thought after the Emancipation Proclamation? I’m sure they patted themselves on the back and rushed to put the shameful Civil War behind them. Jim Crow was a step forward and basically the end of the matter. It’s only too easy to see now it wasn’t so. And after the Civil Rights Act was passed I have no doubt the halls of Congress, the towers of academia, and the livings rooms of American all smiled warmly at their achievement, content in their superiority over their forebears. Perhaps justifiably, but the problem still lingered.

At every instance since, the message of the day has been that racism has ended for all practical purposes. In the 70’s black culture rode a wave of popularity while housing policies, hiring practices, and wage differentials maintained a de facto segregation and the Southern Strategy won the White House. In the 80’s our government felt assured we had made it past the worst and no longer needed affirmative action or corrective measures since racial animus no longer drove society, yet a new Southern Strategy and Welfare Queens brought more old white men into power. Surely by the 90’s we had turned a corner? But then came Rodney King and police scandals from Los Angeles to Chicago to New York. When the century turned, the country was once again filled with the surety that we had escaped the past – we even elected a black President! Then the birtherism started. He was accused of being an African Muslim. And now we’ve elected an old white man as President who ran on a platform of bigotry and racism (whose political aspirations started as a vocal proponent of the birther conspiracy). Yet everyone still wants to believe we are different, we are special, we are not the inheritors of the past’s indiscretions but a different group altogether who longer see race at all. In spite of all the evidence to the contrary, the wealth disparities, the criminal justice disparities, the statistical evidence and social science consensus proving racial divisions and resentment still exist, we cling to the idea that now is better than then. We are arrogant and we are wrong. Only through humility and acceptance of our own imperfections do we have the opportunity to rise above what we were and become better. Still not perfect, but a step above. We can only get there by climbing one rung at a time instead of pretending that we’ve completed a giant leap of faith to get where we are now. We are the future’s past – think carefully of how you want that future to remember you.