The Significance of Reason

-4- THIS, OF COURSE, IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT OUR NATION HAS FACED ADVERSITY. NEITHER WILL IT BE THE LAST. WHILE THE TWO CENTURIES OF THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE HAVE GIVEN RISE TO MAGNIFICENT ACHIEVEMENTS, PROBLEMS HAVE BEEN SPAWNED SIMULTANEOUSLY THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN TOTALLY INCOMPREHENSIBLE TO THE NATION’S FOUNDERS. YOUR GENERATION MUST COPE WITH THESE PROBLEMS AS THEY INTENSIFY IN THE 21ST CENTURY. WHEN THE TORCH IS PASSED TO YOU, YOU WILL INHERIT SOME OF THE MOST AWESOME CHALLENGES YET FACED BY THIS YOUNG NATION. WHILE WE CANNOT KNOW THE FUTURE, AND WE CLEARLY DO NOT KNOW ALL OF THE PROBLEMS THAT WE WILL ENCOUNTER DURING THE NEXT GENERATION, SOME OF THEM ALREADY ARE BECOMING APPARENT. THE HUMAN RACE IS PRESSING FIRMLY AGAINST THE LIMITS OF THE EARTH’S NATURAL RESOURCES AS WE KNOW THEM. YET, YOU WILL INHERIT THE TASK OF DISCOVERING MEANS OF PRODUCING FOOD AND FIBER AND PROVIDING ADEQUATE HEALTH CARE AND HOUSING FOR A POPULATION THAT WILL BE TWO TO THREE TIMES THE POPULATION OF THE EARTH TODAY. AS OUR KNOWN RESERVES OF FOSSIL FUEL ARE EXHAUSTED, YOU WILL INHERIT THE TASK OF DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVE SOURCES OF ENERGY TO MEET THE NEEDS OF MAN. IN SHORT, YOU WILL BE CONFRONTED BY THE RISING EXPECTATIONS OF A VASTLY INCREASED POPULATION THAT IS VERY UNEVENLY DISTRIBUTED WITH RESPECT TO RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES. AS THESE PROBLEMS BECOME MORE ACUTE, WE WILL FIND THAT, TO A GREATER EXTENT THAN EVER BEFORE, THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD ARE OUR PROBLEMS. INCREASINGLY, THEREFORE, WE WILL FACE THE CHALLENGE OF COPING WITH MATTERS OF INTERNATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN PACE AMONG NATIONS. THIS UNIVERSITY HAS NOT PROVIDED YOU WITH SOLUTIONS TO THESE PROBLEMS. INDEED, IT COULD NOT BECAUSE THE SOLUTIONS ARE BEYOND THE LIMITS OF OUR KNOWLEDGE