Prescription for Uncertainty

When times seem uncertain, young people often give up the idea of preparing themselves for the future. There is a tendency to sit back and say: “What’s the use? Our plans will only have to be abandoned anyway. And so we will wait.” But uncertainties are always in the offing. They always were. There were uncertainties ten years ago, twenty years ago, a hundred years ago, a thousand years ago. And if because of future uncertainties we were to resign ourselves to taking whatever comes, without previous preparation, no generation would ever have any capable or qualified men. We have to prepare to live life. And, having prepared, we are better able to live it no matter what comes or when. And in case the seeming uncertainties of our time should make us hesitate to plan and prepare, in case we should assume that it would be impossible for us to finish what we start, we should remind ourselves that everyone who has gone anywhere worth going has done so in spite of future uncertainties. Suppose that in the uncertainties of past years no one had thought he could see far enough forward to set our upon the long road that leads to becoming a doctor. Where would we be for doctors today? Suppose back there that no one had thought it was worth taking time to prepare for any skilled trade or profession? Who would be able to do the technical tasks today? And so we say to the youth who feel that they face an uncertain future: Don’t let the uncertainties of these times discourage you. There have always been conditions to discourage those who were easily discouraged. Don’t abandon worth-while plans and preparation merely because the present scene seems unsettled. The future has always been uncertain. But the better we prepare for it, the better the future will be, no matter what lies ahead. And above all, don’t feel sorry for yourselves⎯because no generation could ever see as far into the future as it wanted to see. But there will always be a future.