Why A Personal "Great American" Series
Contributed by Doug Ferguson
Anchorage/ Mat-Su Valley - After several years, my "Great American" themed series ended last month. Josh Fryfogle's "The People's Paper" has graciously published fifteen of these articles. I sincerelv appreciate having such a citizen "free speech venue in our Mat-Su Valley. My hat's off to Josh and his small staff for providing this wonderful oublishing outet.
You may have an honest question: Why only fifteen "Great Americans' and why these particular individuals when there appear to be hundreds you could name? It is important to answer that question, especially as we view the deteriorating social, moral and ethical climate around us here in 2023 resulting in the violence and crime seen again around the nation.
First, I am not a professional nor even an amateur expert in social behavior or affairs. Originally chose my "Great Americans" based on those peoole. outside of my family. who had the greatest positive direct influence on me from my childhood through my young adult days and about whom could write contidentiy.
Second, because of their dedication to being fine examples for our nation in their particular area of effort, they had a huge influence on many others like me.
Why are such people so important? That is because these role models, educators, and the like have an inordinate effect on our young people at the most critical period of their lives. It turns out that there is even more of an underlying reason beyond my original reasoning.
Just in the past decade or so, facilitated by advances in MRI brain scanning technology and research driven by frightening rises in adolescent suicide and drug abuse, there has been a sea change in understanding human brain development. Previously it was well known that the period from birth to three years old was the fastest growing period of development of the human brain. After that it had been thought that there were slow and subtle changes to the brain well into adulthood and beyond. Little research was done on brain development after that early stage as focus shifted towards dementia at life’s end .
The new research now shows that the so-called adolescent period from age nine years going well into the third decade of life contains significant physical changes to the human brain, specifically the frontal cortex, the part of the brain that helps us make risk judgments, and is the last to physically mature.
This research about "white matter" replacing "gray matter", neurotransmitters, etc. explains how these processes during adolescence cause the threat sensing and emotional centers of the brain to mature before this frontal cortex does. Scientists think it was part of the evolutionary process to make us more open to experiential leaming to become independent and self- sufficient creatures. Therefore teenagers and young adults tend to take more risks and respond more emotionally to both stresses and pleasures as they go through this process. In todays permissive and electronic world this also increases the possibility of substance abuse and suicide.