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What will America look like in 2044? Can we shape the future?
by Ken Krayeske
Hartford, CT
W hat do you imagine the United States of America will look like in 2044? Can we as citizens start now to shape that future?
As Americans, we tend to seek instant gratification. Yet the problems our country faces today represent the culmination of more than 5,000 years of patriarchy, hierarchy and oppression. Examining the triumphs of humankind during the past five millenniums, we see awesome monuments like the Pyramids at Giza and the Great Wall of China took centuries to build. Perhaps it will take several hundred cycles around the sun to halt global warming. Maybe we don't have that long.
We now stand at a crossroads unparalleled in human history. Problems of a global magnitude endanger our species and life on the planet ÷ climate change, the end of the Oil Age, the dawn of new technologies which threaten to enslave us while promising liberation. Faced with these and many other challenges, we must develop a blueprint. A realistic deadline always helps for planning. Will the most intense efforts end homelessness the next four weeks? No. Can we grant universal healthcare within four months? No. What about halt institutional racism in four years? Unfortunately, sadly, no.
Fulfilling the promises of the Declaration of Independence for our communities will require patience. With the awareness that we must show compassion for the suffering that occurs momently, the concept of a longer-term vision carries greater potential to alleviate greater pain. Call it the 40-Year Plan.
12/01/04
She'll be in her fourties!