The arc of American history almost inevitably moves toward freedom. Whether it's Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation the expansion of women's rights or now gay rights I think there is an almost-inevitable march toward greater civil liberties.
When we think about online learning it's such 'early days.' Bill Gates is a wildly smart insightful guy. Yet even a guy as smart and insightful as that 30 years ago can say things like 'Who's every going to need more than 640K of memory?'