We’re living in a decade of darkness. Inept and callous leadership at home while the world continues to tear itself apart over ancient tribal hatreds and the flames of religious fanaticism. Sixty years after the Holocaust, genocide and ethnic cleansing occur on a daily basis. Globalization widens the gulf between rich and poor. Corporate power expands as opportunities for individuals recedes. A predator created by humanity’s wasteful indifference called Global Warming is laying in the high weeds to wreck havoc upon our future.Even so I remain an optimistic idealist as we start 2007. Thugs rule the world but most people are fundamentally decent. Progress is seldom a straight uninterrupted line. Struggle and progress are part of a package. I don’t believe the future belongs to dark figures such as Osama Bin Laden, Kim Jong II or Dick Cheney. We must never surrender to our fears or cynicism. Cynicism is the easy way out and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Ultimately what shall determine the future of this planet is whether people plug into the well being of their communities or remain self-absorbed.
In the 17th century the Enlightenment ushered an era of reason. I believe the 21st century will usher an Enlightenment based on communal values. Communities will have to coordinate if the planet’s air and water supply is to be preserved, corporate power reversed and homicidal leaders stopped. No better time to start then 2007.
