Lately, you are bound to hear the phrase, “Things sure aren’t like they used to be,” said by someone who has their mind stuck in the past, while the world tries its hardest to push itself forward.

The concept of nostalgia is something odd as, even though we all talk about moving forward with technology and viewpoints, some of us still cling to the past, thinking it will have an effect on our current situation. The truth is that no matter what we do, time progresses in a linear path, never curving back on itself, save some clever theoretical physics.

We cannot continue to look to the past for answers when all it does is stifle us and our progress. By taking a look at the way things used to be, our vision of the future becomes muddled. We lose our grasp on what is happening in front of us by fixating on what has already happened.

If we want true improvements to our ways of life, we have to give up on our love of nostalgia. Our love of the fads from the past and the political decisions that we once believed must be purged from our constant thought processes. The concepts that we have evolved from are stuck in the past for a reason – they did not work and have become outdated by newer and better principles.

Comfort is not always ethical. Jim Crowe gave way to civil rights. Gender discrimination prompted Title IX. And even smart phones have had a major impact on our life, yet they were looked at with some levels of disbelief due to peoples’ desire to stay with older services.

When we, as students and democratic citizens, look at new ideas and legislation, both local and national, with disinterest because of their potential to eschew ideas that we have grown up with or tear apart our image of the old days, we are creating a disservice to ourselves and future generations. We can always create a new change toward something better.

Give up on nostalgia and accept change. Participate in the future. Do not be a ghost of the past.