2008 Woodie Awards
Pennies in the Well
Future Sight
by Matthew Jackson
Issue date: 1/28/08 Section: Opinion
As I continue my studies in the area of history this year, I become more and more aware of how the events of the past have shaped the modern times we live in. It affects us in little ways, such as words we use. Metropolis, for example, comes from Greek words meaning mother and city. It also affects us in larger ways. The name of our country, America, for example, originates from the misbelief that Amerigo Vespucci discovered the country.
The more I think about this fact, the more it bothers me how little we look to the future. Yes we think about the future, but how often do we actually plan for the future? By plan, I do not mean make a dinner date for next week or buy tickets for an opera coming through town. What I mean is thinking about how our actions today will affect future generations. How will how we live today shape the next 500 years?
I think that our culture today has taken a general feeling of living for the day and living in the moment. I think that this is a surefire way to ruin the future. Yes, we should be concerned about our lives and how the way we live affects us now, but I think we also need to look forward to how our actions will affect future generations
I think it is important that we realize that the people of the future will be living with the choices we make today for a long time.
What struggles will people in the future have to deal with because of what we are doing today? Will they live in a desert-like world in the future due to global warming? Will they have to struggle to survive with inadiquite resources because we have already exhausted the planet?
What I think is the more important question is what can we do today not to cause hardship for people in the future. Would this come in the form of using less fuel or using our resources wisely?
I do not think this would mean a drastic change in the way we live. I think we could all do little things, such as walk a little more and drive a little less, that would affect the future in a positive way.
In the end, I think that we do not need to live singularly in the past, the present or the future. I think we need to strike a balance; we need to understand how the past affects our lives today in order to plan for the future.
The more I think about this fact, the more it bothers me how little we look to the future. Yes we think about the future, but how often do we actually plan for the future? By plan, I do not mean make a dinner date for next week or buy tickets for an opera coming through town. What I mean is thinking about how our actions today will affect future generations. How will how we live today shape the next 500 years?
I think that our culture today has taken a general feeling of living for the day and living in the moment. I think that this is a surefire way to ruin the future. Yes, we should be concerned about our lives and how the way we live affects us now, but I think we also need to look forward to how our actions will affect future generations
I think it is important that we realize that the people of the future will be living with the choices we make today for a long time.
What struggles will people in the future have to deal with because of what we are doing today? Will they live in a desert-like world in the future due to global warming? Will they have to struggle to survive with inadiquite resources because we have already exhausted the planet?
What I think is the more important question is what can we do today not to cause hardship for people in the future. Would this come in the form of using less fuel or using our resources wisely?
I do not think this would mean a drastic change in the way we live. I think we could all do little things, such as walk a little more and drive a little less, that would affect the future in a positive way.
In the end, I think that we do not need to live singularly in the past, the present or the future. I think we need to strike a balance; we need to understand how the past affects our lives today in order to plan for the future.
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