What have we learned from our history? Has our mental development kept pace with the physical growth around us?

Settlements sprang up along the banks of our rivers because those rivers were a source of both power and transportation. Settlements became villages, which became towns and they grew into cities. At the same time our settlements were growing there was another revolution of technology. It was nothing compared to the rapid evolution we are seeing today but it still had a life altering impact on our ancestors way of life. Railways became the mode of transportation so we no longer needed to establish our communities on the banks of a river. Commerce was powered by electricity and we no longer depended on the flow of water to turn the wheel that moved the belts that powered the mill.

Roads were built allowing both people and goods to be transported from one place to another by horse drawn wagons. We no longer had to develop commimities along rivers or railways. Cars and trucks replaced the horse drawn wagons. Through it all life got busier as we tried to get more done in less time.

All of this change because the greatest asset we have is our time. It’s limited. You never know when it will run out. You can’t buy more of it.

Today our community leaders (politicians) seem to be stuck in reverse gear, trying to return to the “way it used to be.” I have vague memories of riding the streetcar from Preston to Hespeler to visit friends. I remember the streetcar rides to what is now the Rocky Community Centre in Kitchener where we would transfer to a Kitchener city bus. Do you remember the railway ties being dug up on King Street in Preston the last time the underground services were upgraded? Why were they paved over? Because they were no longer the best way.

They still aren’t!

I can drive from Fairview Park mall in Kitchener to Conestogo Mall in Waterloo in under 15 minutes on a good day. Or, I can take approximately 45 minutes to travel between the same two points using the light rail system (ION). Time is my number one commodity. Which mode of transportation makes the most sense.

What have we learned from our history?