Confessions of a Sixties Idealist

In this essay, Susan Szenasy talks about sustainability, which was disputed briefly by a student at Parsons. She brings up names of designers who made a big impact in the design world, emphasizing the importance of sustainability. The subject of the World Trade Centers was an unexpected turn in the essay, however made clear sense. This made me jump back to the early decade of 2000, when this was written, and imagine the impact of this incident as a NYC dweller and designer. Nothing mattered but our own values; we become more aware of ourselves and our surroundings. I believe this is where we designers must stand at all times- in this circle of networks that are altogether aware of what is truly important and at the same time trying to create a better world.

Two terms Susan was quite keen about in her essay were "interconnectedness and relationships." This goes back to the previous paragraph, where I mentioned circle of networks. Without this, designers would be stuck doing the same old thing; adding and improving the material/plastic (AKA fake) world. Susan is leading her readers and fellow designers to step out of this bubble and take [responsible] action for improving the real world.