Possibilities of the Past and Today

  In the past, people often regarded ideas of the future as impossible. People who believed these ideas were possible and would become true were considered crazy or insane in some cases. They also reacted this way because the didn't want things to change.

  This relates to the Book The Secret Life of Bees because back in the 50's and 60's, many didn't think certain things were even possibility. In one part of the book, they bring up the event when Mr. Cronkite announced that the United States would send a rocket to the moon on July 28. President Kennedy also said that the U.S. would land a man to the moon. When people first heard this they thought it was crazy and that a landing on the moon was long way into the future. Lily even recalls an article about his statement which was titled Luna-tic Vision.

  Not only were certain technological ideas rejected, but so were ideas that society, laws, and beliefs would change. Through the time of slavery, and even after the civil war, most white Americans still thought blacks would always be of a lower status than them. In class we talked about the Civil Rights movement and how some people didn't want this change, so took action to stop black people's protest. When the black students were the first sent to a white school, some students simply wouldn't accept the fact that blacks would eventually have the same rights as they had and teased them. Even after the Civil Rights Act was passed whites neglected the thought that blacks could be of equal status as them.

  This was also implied in the book when Lily and Zach are having a conversation about what they want to become when they get older. Zach says he wants to become a lawyer, but doubts it because he is Negro and most people don't think blacks could be a lawyer. He even makes this statement: "Why is it sports is the only thing white people see us being successful at? I don't want to play football. I wanna be a lawyer. You gotta imagine whats never been" This connects with the Civil rights movement because before this movement, white people thought that they would always be superior to blacks and didn't think blacks had the intelligence to gain these kinds of jobs or would ever get the chance to.

  Today, much that would be unexpected back then has happened. Man has landed on the moon and technology has exceedingly advanced over the past few decades. Many laws and beliefs have changed as well. Blacks have the equal rights we have and our society has become much more accepting of change. As I have grown older I have begun to more so see the change in society and technology. Even some of the changes have begun to surprise me.