Class of 2008 faces challenges with optimism
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June 08, 2008 - 03:06 PM

As if it weren’t already difficult enough for graduating high school seniors to anticipate the future, consider what has happened in just the past year.

The price of gasoline has skyrocketed beyond anything we expected. Food costs are climbing quickly, and food shortages threaten to cause social upheaval in some parts of the world. The evidence of human-caused global warming has become utterly convincing to all but the most stubborn skeptics, and the impacts are becoming clear and alarming.

The national economy struggles to lumber through what may or may not be a recession (but feels like one to most people). A political dynamic that, even well into the 21st century, was considered unlikely to emerge is now a reality: Barack Obama is the presumptive Democratic candidate for president of the U.S..

Change is coming at all of us more rapidly than ever.

Meanwhile, crisis-level issues such as health care, energy, immigration, education and the housing debacle generate rhetoric but no meaningful action. A stagnant war launched on false pretenses continues to claim lives with no end in sight, below the radar of most media coverage.

This is what we’re handing off to the next graduating class. The career outlooks for the class of 2008 are, at best, uncertain. What jobs should they even prepare for?

And yet …

The graduates who participated in the Skagit Valley Herald’s senior focus group story — which appeared in the June 1 issue (and can still be found, along with videos, on the http://www.goskagit.com Web site) — radiate optimism and high hopes. They’re not naive, overconfident or underinformed about the world. They view it through a different prism, having lived through the dramatic changes and upheavals of the past decade. They see opportunities, not limits. They see potential, not roadblocks. They’ve adapted and adopted new technology their entire lives. They’re not afraid of working for their goals.

All this should be gratifying and encouraging to we weary adults. Fresh perspectives, new ideas and youthful passion cannot help but contribute to problem-solving that could make this a better world.

Reality and experience will, of course, affect the graduates, just as we have been affected. Our best hope is that they are well-prepared for a different set of challenges than their parents’ generation faced.

Congratulations and good luck to the class of 2008 — and not to impose too much pressure, but we’re counting on you.

Editorials reflect the consensus opinion of the editorial board and are written by its members: Publisher L. Stedem Wood, Editor Don Nelson and City Editor Dick Clever.


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