Greg Awtry

Birthdays, at my age, now 73, are a far cry from those of my youth. Back then there were the birthday parties, the sleepovers and of course the presents, but more importantly it was the beginning of your future, a future full of dreams and adventures all wrapped up in feelings of immortality. Time seemed endless. If we did think about the past, it was only yesterday and the future would only be tomorrow.

Then slowly at first, aging makes an appearance until finally, that old man looking back at me in the mirror, is me! And even though I am blessed with incredible memories of the past, I refuse to let the future slip by without wondering what’s in store for all of us.

That conversation I had with my daughter about how the world had changed so much since 1953. Growing up in the fifties and sixties, even though our country had some challenges, was a time of prosperity unlike any we had experienced before. Coming off a victory in WWII, the continual industrial growth, the birth of the suburbs, jobs galore, affordable housing, amazing discoveries in medicine, and equal voting rights for all.

And of course, who could forget in 1961 John F. Kennedy’s famous line, the United States should, “before this decade is out, land a man on the moon and return him safely to earth.” And who can forget in July of 1969, Neil Armstrong, stepping off the bottom step of the lunar lander, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The world as a whole paused for a moment, let out the breath we had been holding in disbelief and awe. Then we began to see pictures of the earth from space. The earth, not even a speck of dust in the universe, was a blue and white marble, one of nine planets racing around the sun, but this one, our earth, was the rarest of all. It was crawling with life!

Now here we are, fifty-seven years later, seeing more pictures from Artemis II. Those pictures of earth have no lines on them dividing countries, dividing races or religions, no lines saying this is my land, this is your land, just one tiny speck floating in the void of space. It looks so small, and while we thought we had advanced to a civilized society, why do we think we still have to fight over the only place we call home.

You would think, with all the technological advancements we have made since then, it would have carried over to our society as well. It’s not for lack communication. Heck, our smart phones have millions of times more technology than all of NASA did in 1969, and with the touch of a button, we can see and talk to practically anyone on earth. The question is, have we really advanced as a society?

Apparently not. Currently there are somewhere between ten and thirty “wars”, depending on your definition of war, going on right now on our tiny little blue marble. On average about 2,000 people die each and every day from murder or war. What is wrong with us? When will it end? When will we learn that life is so precious and as of right now, the only life we know of is here, our earth, our one and only home.

All this insanity has me thinking about the future and if we are leaving our planet better or worse than the one that was left to us. I won’t live long enough to see any significant change in our behaviors, but what of my grandchildren, and their grandchildren? Here I am, an aging member of the baby boomer generation, a generation who hoped for a world of peace and love, yet we are the same generation fueling the flames of war. Is this really the world we want to pass along to future generations?

If not, then we must begin the long process of change, to quell the divisions we feel must fight over and even kill over. I try to imagine what the world will look like in a hundred years, keeping in mind only one percent of homes had electricity and indoor plumbing a hundred years ago. We have come so far in a short time, and no doubt our future will be filled with wonders we can’t comprehend.

But right now, we have this one tiny blue marble to share with all humanity. Yes, someday there is the possibility we will discover other planets with life, but right now this is it, and it is magnificent, yet we still find ourselves acting like a bunch of ants fighting over breadcrumbs. What kind of future is that?

Will we finally become civilized, defined by, “Where people are polite, refined and reasonable, humane and well organized, adhering to social norms and ethical standards?” Or, are we still primitive savages, fighting against each other on this one and only place we call home?I want to know what you think our future will look like a hundred years from now. gregawtry@awtry.com