I believe in society

I was running along a winding country road a few months ago. The kind of road that can barely fit two cars. The kind of road that doesn't have a shoulder. As I was running around a bend, a car came down the road from the other direction. The side view mirror would have passed within inches of my arm if not for the fact that the driver reacted quickly to avoid hitting me by drifting into the middle of the road as they took the turn. It got me thinking about the fact that every day we walk outside our houses, we are putting our faith in our fellow human beings. When I was running down that road, I had to trust that everyone would follow a certain set of rules. I have to put my trust in complete strangers every single day. And you know what, barring isolated incidents, people have shown me that they deserve my trust. They haven't let me down.

That's the miraculous thing about society. People can come together to agree on a set of rules that, if everyone follows them, will make everyone's lives better. Society is a complete anomaly in the universe. It's order out of chaos. But there's a reason why we've gravitated towards it. Society has allowed us to harness the individual talents of its members. We've seen exponential growth in medicine, science, engineering, technology, all because society has given the people who pursue those fields a safe and nurturing environment. The safety I'm talking about comes from the obvious like police and firefighters, but also the not so obvious like the government bureaucrat who's sitting in an office deciding how far apart studs have to be in construction. Those decisions matter too, and everyone working together has created this amazing, imperfect society that despite its flaws has given us an incredible opportunity to live longer, healthier, and more connected lives.

It's easy for me to extol the virtues of society because it has worked exceptionally well for me. I have two remarkable parents who loved me unconditionally and gave me the freedom to find my own way. I received a top-notch education and I had teachers who took a personal interest in me. I received government loans that allowed me to go to engineering school and get a college degree. I was in the right place at the right time with the right skills to take advantage of the technology boom in the late 90s. I was set up from the beginning to succeed. But society doesn't work equally well for all people. I am very much aware of that fact. And when I see that society is not working for everyone, it breaks my heart, because I want everyone to have what I have. I want everyone to have had the same opportunities that I've had, because I believe in society. I believe in the promise of society.