The future....

Final Paper Option B

There is no way to really know what the future will hold in store for the world and the people who live in it. There are several possible outcomes that may arise in the year 2040 for example. Some may say the world will be destructed by then, maybe by an all out nuclear war, or maybe by a huge asteroid hitting Earth, knocking it off its universal alignment causing a chain reaction of devastating weather disasters. Although there is no real way to agree on what will exactly happen, there is a way to agree on a common desire for the future. The world as we now know it is not in a cooperative functioning state, as noticed by war, struggle over resources, and the battle to enforce a common political, economical, and ecological way of life. I believe that there is a safer, more peaceful way for the world and its inhabitants to live.
In the year 2040, I envision a more peaceful world. Racism, sexism, and other prejudices will be dramatically changed, and the world will be a more open-minded accepting place. Although poverty will still exist, it will be greatly reduced. Gender roles will become almost non-existent in the future. Women and men will have equal opportunity and women will find themselves having no glass ceiling to their lives. Careers will no longer have gender association; women and men will have both broken the barriers of gender associated jobs. Women will no longer be the housewives, while men bring in the money. Men will start to contribute a lot more around the house while the women take on their careers. Families will begin to have both parental units working, while children will begin to spend a lot more time in day care.
The standard of living is vastly influenced by power, and money. This creates a serious problem because of the fact that not everyone has access to these resources. A standard of living can be justified by what is necessary for people to happily and safely exist. In today’s society not everyone is blessed with this necessity of life. Throughout people’s life, one of the common goals that are strived for is material wealth. Material wealth is primarily obtained by a financial status. Although many feel that this is the sole purpose in life, I believe that in order to have a complete standard for living, spiritual, emotional, and creative wealth must be included. Spiritual wealth is one’s morals, interests and attitudes that make people individuals. I do not think that spiritual wealth has to be correlated with religion because not all people are religious and are not required to be in order to obtain spiritual wealth. Emotional wealth is the management of people’s feelings, and relationship. Creative wealth is how individuals express themselves. It can be measured by how they can express themselves. Although interests may vary, all people have interests, and should be able to stay actively involved with these interests. Material, spiritual, emotional, and creative wealth are all related through the standard of living. Without being able to obtain each of these aspects, there is no way to imply a balanced life. Not everyone has the same goals in these aspects of wealth. A certain comfort level is prevalent in this pursuit. I believe that there is no right and wrong in people’s beliefs. Everyone should respect others aspirations, and put all prejudices aside in order to create an equal comfort level for all.
In the world today, human’s relationship with nature is very destructive and wasteful. We continue to damage the environment everyday with pollution. In 2040, in order to live in a safer and cleaner world, there will be several aspects of the relationship of humans and nature that change. One of the biggest changes will be the conversion of gas powered cars to a more efficient source of energy. Solar and hydro powered vehicles will be the main means of transportation. In addition, a very efficient public transportation system will be in place to discourage the use of individual automobiles. Another problem with pollution is polluted water. There are several areas in the world that do not even have access to clean water. In the future, everyone will have clean water, because without it life can not be lived healthily. As Barnett describes, we must shrink the division between the core and the gap. This process first starts with basic necessities such as clean water and a clean environment. For countries that do not have efficient ways of recycling, more developed countries must show them how. It takes more than a few nations to have an environmentally sound world, it takes everyone. This process is a stepping stone for human relations. If everyone has a common goal in cleaning up the world, then it will inevitably unite the world.
In order for the world to unite, there must be a structure of government and leadership throughout the world. From the local standpoint, I believe that our government is run efficiently. Although at times individual voices are not heard, people still have freedom to unite for a cause and make a difference in the system. I believe that in the year 2040 our government will be run just about the same as it is now. I think that the future leaders of the US will have different attitudes toward running the country which in effect will change our country in a positive way. I believe that the attitude of the US is to globalize by force. This is prevalent today by our “fight against terrorism.” In the future, the US still needs to shrink the gap by peaceful means. Developed countries, in the future, need to work together to help the underdeveloped countries. War, poverty, and hunger are all major issues that surround the world today. Unfortunately, it seems that not enough is being done to turn this around. In 2040, I believe that the nation-state as we know it will change due to globalization. Western ideals will become a common factor of change. One of the major obstacles to tackle is helping the places in the world whose leaders do not want change. I believe that the change in other developing countries will encourage others to change.
The world as we know it now is a resource hungry machine. As noted by Michael T. Klare, in his book Resource Wars, countries are desperately trying to keep up with their countries consumption by obtaining natural resources elsewhere. The main solution to this problem in the future is the use of alternate sources of energy. I believe by the year 2040, our world will more efficiently manage the use of natural resources by changing the things they use them for. Oil is the main resource that needs to be adapted to. With the constant use of this resource, we will soon find ourselves in a bind with the amount we have left in the world. Vast amounts of money are being used to control resource rich areas. The Iraq war I believe is a movement to obtain more oil in the Middle East. Our world needs to work together to define what is necessary and what is not. Diamonds from Sierra Leone are definitely not a necessity in the world. At this time, oil is, but will not be in the future. From an economic standpoint, the management of these resources will benefit everyone in the world because the more we need them, the more expense it will get to obtain them. In addition, I believe that the government finds itself getting involved in to many global matters which decreases the countries productivity. In the future the government should be more willing to hire private institutions to take care of some of these tasks. This will keep our country functioning more efficiently and also take care of more global matters swiftly.
Education, law, medicine, and religion will also take on productive changes in the future. Since education is the future of our world, a higher standard must be placed on the children, and educational institutions. Educators have one of the most important jobs there is, but do not get paid nearly enough. In the future, more money will be targeted toward our educational system, giving schools more resources which would increase the overall output of our schools. In the future the law will change to create better policy in areas such as child protection, education, and health insurance. These changes will give lower class individuals the opportunity to live a successful life. Also in the future I envision the opportunity for all to obtain health insurance. Instead of our tax money going to things like “the fight on terrorism”, we can provide all inhabitants with health insurance. On a global level, I believe that all third world countries should have educational institutions, medicine, and freedom of religion. All religions should be respected but not applied as mandatory. We should strive toward a non-judgmental society, which would decrease confrontation and war. With the improvement of one of these aspects, comes the improvement of all. Since they all coincide in one way or another, they can be used to improve each other.
Expression of rage and anger will come to be a more organized matter in the future. Social movements will help aid those with problems. Instead of civil wars, terrorism, and violent ways of retaliation, the world will see a more organized front. People will unite in common cause to change the problems that the world faces.
Children will also be brought up differently in the year 2040. Our children will be taught at an early age to care for the environment. Recycling will be a focal point to teach the children, creating a social norm for our younger generations. Also, our children will also be taught ways of handling confrontation and arguments without the use of violence. As they grow up these traits will continue to be enforced and encouraged hopefully decreasing the use of violence.
In the future, I will play a vital role in the lives of children. I will coach various sports, and also be a coordinator at the boys and girls club. I will contribute to raising a more well rounded, aware, generation. The children I deal with will learn many life skills that are important to their future. They will learn how to communicate properly without arising violent confrontation, and also learn how to take care of the environment.
There is no true way to know what the future may hold because anything is possible. With that idea in mind, we should strive to improve our world. If anything is possible then we must have the highest of expectations in order to accomplish the most. The world is an ever-changing place, but with the right people in charge, we can mold a more peaceful, healthy, and safe world.