From the time of our birth, we have always tried to communicate. Sometimes we do it well. At others we need to improve. And, unfortunately, at times we fail, either by choice or by chance.

As babies, we were often able to communicate very effectively with our parents. We could tell them when we were hungry, when we were sad, when we were happy, and when our diaper needed to be changed. We did this by nature. We did not need to use words. Our voices, our expressions, our actions communicated our needs.

As we grew older, we learned how to use simple syllables and words to communicate our needs. We sometimes didn’t understand what we were communicating but by imitation of others or achieving results, our communication skills grew.

In a few years, we learned our alphabet and how to put these letters together to create ever more complex words and to use these words to communicate the same things we expressed more simply as babies. Sometimes we learned words or phrases that caused us to “have our mouths washed out with soap” (not really, but another form of communication).

For those of us who are defined as “baby boomers”, our communication skills were further enhanced by family gatherings, often for dinners on weekends or overnight stays. This seemed to be common since families often lived nearby. This is, perhaps, more difficult today with families spread far and wide.

While the physical separation of families has presented challenges, it has also provided opportunities to introduce new technologies for communicating. One of the early methods for communicating was the telegraph. Using a combination of “dots and dashes” we discovered we could send electrical signals over long distances making written communication possible – something much faster than sending a letter.

This was followed by the introduction and then widespread use of the telephone. With this new technology, we could send our voice across the country over wire. It was truly a miracle. One that could not be easily understood but was appreciated by all.

These two technologies opened many doors for communication. Things like television with a wide selection of channels – the baby boomers probably remember having only three or four channels that were only on air for a limited number of hours each day. Things like today’s cell phones, email, and text messaging. Things that are not limited by borders. Who knows what the future may hold.

But as I said earlier, we are unfortunate that communication also faces some of its biggest challenges today. We could possibly blame this on chance. Technology is changing so rapidly that not all are able to keep abreast of the new ways to communicate. This may be because it is so difficult for us “old folks” to learn how to use new technology. Perhaps it is because it is too costly to own the “latest and greatest” things or even to see the need for these things. It might be something else that holds us back. But I find this difficult to accept because I know of many people of my generation that are just as likely to use the latest technology as are those of today’s generation.

Instead, I look at the world around us and wonder if we no longer communicate well because we do not want to communicate. Perhaps we see communication as a way for others to demand our help in solving their problems. Or maybe we see our time as “too valuable” to waste on sharing with others. Maybe politics is the cause, with communication forcing us to see that others may have valid or valuable opinions that may not match our own.

I see a world where parents are not communicating with their children because one group is more liberal or more conservative than the other. A world where life experiences seem to have no value or where “woke” viewpoints are discounted out-of-hand. A world where so-called media stars and other elites somehow see themselves as smarter than others in our country. A world where the opinions of the majority are lumped into a single, disagreeable group that can be blamed for everyone’s problems. A world where it has been suggested that family holiday gatherings, a prime location for communication, be cancelled because of political differences.

One hopes that we can begin communicating with others again; that we can have a world where families come together and resolve differences; maybe even a world where we can return to the simpler time when communication is a way to achieve our needs while recognizing those of others.

Let’s start to communicate and use our communications to resolve our important differences. If there is one thing that we all should have learned early in our lives is that no one is perfect but that does not prevent our living together. Communication is the key.