When new Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to a question about the makeup of his cabinet by saying “It’s 2015,” I rejoiced. Trudeau purposely chose 15 men and 15 women to his newly appointed governing body, including several minorities and one member who is disabled. In other words, he chose a cabinet that represents his country. And while I was thrilled to hear his answer because it addresses a global need for gender, racial and socioeconomic equality, something else about his response also made me smile: Someone finally used the phrase “It’s 2015” as it should be used.
A quick Google search will turn up any number of organizations and individuals wondering why they do not have certain luxuries, technologies or abilities that we’re apparently entitled to now that we are 15 years into the century.
Because it is 2015, we should apparently have all of our medical records digitized; we should not have to plug phones into laptops for downloads; we should have found a way to eliminate the menstrual cycle; we should be wearing futuristic clothing; we should have faster image downloading options; we should have a driverless car at our disposal; and — most importantly — we should have hoverboards by now. Call it the “Back to the Future” effect. We’ve been spoiled by Marty McFly’s experience of the future.
Why, in 2015, must we still look to others for the answers to our questions, and to provide our luxuries? With all of the advancements, information, education and resources available to us, why are we — why am I — not contributing to the answers instead of just generating more questions?
We live in a time when data is expanding beyond our ability to understand what it can tell us. In 2011, it was estimated that the world’s data will grow by 50 times in the next decade. The same study estimated that 1.8 trillion gigabytes of data was created in 2011. We live in a time when entire university curriculums exist as free, massive, open online courses that anyone can access. Education and knowledge are at our fingertips — only mouse clicks away. A diploma on our wall or a transcript in our files at home is no longer required to accomplish various ends.
It might be too late for 2015, but maybe 2016 can be the time when we stop asking questions and expecting everyone else to push the boundaries further and find answers to our community’s problems. Perhaps we can follow Trudeau’s lead and realize that what we need is available to us, and action is all that is required. He solved a problem. He was granted the ability to do so and he acted.
Being a citizen in 2015 does not grant us the right to ask why others haven’t solved problems or provided us with more luxuries. It burdens us with the responsibility of finding out why can’t we do it ourselves.
Ryan Kirksey is the Director of Operations and Finance at the Baker Institute.