Photographer and filmmaker, Andrew Zuckerman, has published a book entitled Wisdom. The book includes photographs and quotes from various luminaries who have made their mark on the world. A brief summary and film are available on the Internet and well worth the few minutes it takes to watch. The site describes the concept for the film as follows:
"Inspired by the idea that one of the greatest gifts one generation can pass to another is the wisdom it has gained from experience, the Wisdom project, produced with cooperation from Archbishop Desmond Tutu, seeks to create a record of a multicultural group of people who have all made their mark on the world...This comprehensive portrayal of such a profound and global group is an index of extraordinary perspectives."
What struck me in watching the film clips and listening to individuals of such diverse backgrounds as Desmond Tutu, Chuck Close, Jane Goodall, Bryce Courtenay, and Clint Eastwood was the age of those included in the project. I'm guessing that the average age of each individual was somewhere around 65 or 70 and many are older.
Wisdom is acquired through life experience. We are not born knowing right from wrong or good sense versus poor judgment. While we may be born with a certain level of intelligence and ability to learn, we are not born wise.
Ironically, Americans just elected one of the country's youngest Presidents to be the leader of the free world at a time where experience and perspective would have been wise traits to focus upon during the selection process. While the list of reasons to have voted for John McCain over Barack Obama is too long to describe here, one clearly at the top would have been McCain's wisdom.
How our 47 year old community organizer/President-elect proceeds along the learning curve we will only ascertain with time, but I imagine that it wouldn't have hurt the country had we waited a bit longer before making history and giving him his opportunity to make his mark on the world.
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