My mother passed away some years ago at the age of eighty-four. That fact is important here only in that most people would say that eight-four years is a decent life span. Most would like to be around longer, but it's decent.
In 1692 our forebearers, in what would become the United States, tortured and murdered their friends and neighbors for the practice of witchcraft. We recognize this as the Salem Witch Trials. Add eighty-four years to that and you come up with (wait a minute - activate the numerator and carry the positron) 1776. That was the year that our forebearers, in what was to become the United States, drafted the Declaration of Independence which stated "that all men were created equal..." What a tremendous step for our society to take in a decent life span, but it was just one step.
I feel that lately our society is leaning backward and if we continue to lean, we will take a backward step. Any time someone tells me what I should read, what I should see, what I should think, what I should feel, what I should fear, it is not for my benefit but their's. They are trying to control me, stop me from going forward, make me take a backward step.