Giving Thanks for the Brighter Future Ahead

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this year, the world seems troubled, from the Hamas-Israel stand-off in Gaza to Syria’s bloody civil war to the recent fighting in Congo. Americans looking out at the world from family dinner tables would be right to fear that we live in a turbulent time when global misunderstandings, violence, and conflicts abound. But these crises should not obscure a much more optimistic perspective about the future. We also live at a time of real promise, characterized by some little noted and positive trends that could very well make the next few decades an era of remarkable human progress. We also live during a time of remarkable advances in scientific, technological, and medical innovations that are changing our lives for the better. We can now see our economy taking on its future form in places like Kendall Square — one of the world centers for biotechnology.