To Be or Not

Many time periods have been interesting to those who were living in them. Things aren't going to change overnight, even if they change rapidly. Some issues are enormous, fundamental and long-term, such as male dominance, social victimization, or urban sprawl. Meanwhile other critical issues play a smaller part, such as disposable packaging, youth crime, family arguments that lead into gunfire and screeching tires. Some things definitely must go because they affect our survival prospects like military overkill, dangerous chemicals, or fast population growth. Many matters are debatable such as alcohol-abuse, risky scientific research or biased nationalism. We might say goodbye to such things as war, secrecy, faceless social disaffection, and public powerlessness. Soon enough it could be goodbye to dangerous stress, tobacco, burgers, serial killings, muggings, and smog. Times change. Many of today's accepted virtues might one day be judged as crimes against humanity and nature, which leads to the question: What kind of world do you want to live in?

Our ancient habit is to stumble backwards into the future. We feel that we as individuals make little difference, as if history and the future just happen at us. Obscure plans, which have guided people forward in the past, have now rendered themselves useless. There are no known maps to show pathways into the future.

We'll need to consider back to our hearts, common sense and basic human capabilities. We'll need to consider the deep issues at stake and make deep choices about them. This idea of disaster is actually an aide. It activates resourceful survival instincts. The human race needs to change course. There are so many causes of large-scale disaster that it would need whole libraries to contain it. While there is no way of knowing whether such possibilities could become real, it is valuable to consider options and to make ideal adjustments, without fear, to help structure research and planning and to consider worst-case effects. We need to make a list of likely models and dimensions of disaster, to value responses to them and also values helpful factors that are to our advantage. This is risky business, but no government likes entertaining out in the open. Yet, it has been done secretly in and governments.

We witness inhumanity, abuse, and scandals in daily news broadcasts, and we come upon many similar questions in the details of our personal lives. As it may be, the next government might make a difference, or media might expose the corruption