Idaho Falls

62 IDAHO FALLS MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 2020 BY GREGG LOSINSKI Despite the multitude of turmoils that have befallen the world this past year, it is amazing how some people can keep moving forward. New advances in science and medicine occur every day. Rockets to Mars and commercial space travel are on the verge of ceasing to be the stuff of science fic- tion. Technology keeps changing, but human nature remains constant. One hundred and fifty years ago, the landscape of the Snake River Plain was as otherworldly to the coming settlers as Mars looks to us. While today we have all kinds of satellite data about the Red Planet, those heading west after the Civil War had little factual information about where they were venturing off to start new lives. Back then, newspapers were pretty much the only sources of informa- tion and they were definitely full of fake news. Settlements such as Eagle Rock rebranded themselves with names like Idaho Falls in order to sound lusher and more appealing. Fact-checking was a con- cept yet to be invented. Hope superseded reality and the consequences were often dire. The good old days weren't always that good. Families often risked everything to come here and start over. Of course, the coming of these new people often meant hard times for those people who had called this place home originally. Ironically, some of the newcomers them- selves had been displaced by wars, fam- ines and plagues. Historically, compas- sion for others has often unfortunately been trumped by fear of survival for one's self and loved ones. There is plenty of land, food and water on the planet for everyone. The trick has always been get- ting the proper distribution of people and resources synced up. Sometimes, per- sonal greed and prejudice get in the way, and other times governments intention- ally starve thousands or even millions for ideological purposes. The disappearance of the buffalo was no accident. Technology keeps changing, but human nature remains constant. The events of this year have caused many of us to reevaluate what happiness is all about. Is it about money, career, family or health? How we view all of these things today is probably different than it was a year ago before the pan- demic struck. We have new fears, but have rediscovered lost joys and reevalu- ated what is truly important and what we should be thankful about. Many of these feelings are ones that we probably haven't felt collectively since the war years or the Great Depression. Technology keeps changing, but human nature remains constant. Our daily lives are so entwined with things like smartphones that we hardly notice them, yet would be in a panic without them. We expect instantaneous results and to be in constant communica- tion with the entire planet. The settlers who came here probably thought that the telegraph was pretty hot stuff, compared to mail that could take weeks or even months to arrive. However, it wasn't until the coming of the telephone that people could have a two-sided conversation with a loved one completely on the other side of the continent. Today, we can FaceTime or have a Zoom Meeting with someone on the other side of the world and maybe even Mars soon. Keeping in touch is a basic human need. In pioneer times, receiving one letter a year from some- one was considered pretty good. Now, if someone doesn't return a text in a minute we take it as a personal snub. Technology keeps changing, but human nature remains constant. Just like the folks at the Site strive to make technology better, let's all work to build on the positive aspects of human nature and leave the negative ones in the past. IF Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear OUT THERE

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