On SFC's 20th Anniversary: Can the Dream Be Sustained? | Yasuo Takagi (Dean of the Graduate School of Health Management)
2010.05.27
This is a story from 15 years ago. When I was visiting Washington, D.C., on business, I remarked to an official at the Japanese embassy, "I heard it was dangerous here, but it seems safe." He replied, "That's not the case. Even now, there are areas where the probability of leaving home in the morning and returning in the evening is lower than on the front lines in Vietnam." This is why I can finally understand the weight of turning twenty, as expressed by an African American I met in New York who said, "Today is my twentieth birthday. My parents are probably the happiest. In the neighborhood where I was born, many young people die before they turn twenty due to drugs and violence."
SFC's 20th anniversary must have similarly faced numerous difficulties. Glimpses of these struggles were shared at the commemorative ceremony, and I am humbled by the efforts of our predecessors. I feel the weight of responsibility for how we will carry SFC forward now that it has finally come of age.
As I turn sixty this year, I find myself reflecting on what I was thinking at twenty. I was fearless, and looking back now, I feel a bit embarrassed about how I rushed forward with only a superficial knowledge of things. After graduating from university, I came to know the world and was bewildered that it didn't operate according to the textbooks I had studied. I would brood over how to restructure my thoughts and knowledge within my work to build a fruitful life. Looking back, I think how foolish I was, but that's what it means to be young.
However, there are pitfalls even for those who have lived a long time. There is a saying, "An increase in numbers leads to intoxication." We can become narcissistic, rejoicing in our survival, and forget to even examine the dreams we held in our youth. In these challenging times, I understand the emphasis on quantity and time—the idea that just being alive is enough. But the future challenge for SFC will be to verify to what extent the dreams of its youth have been achieved and to examine its enduring aspirations.
(Posted: 2010/05/27)