Life in the Future

Genetic Engineering:
Eventually, genetic engineering will allow us to create the perfect human. It will be hard to get used to. Parents will order a baby who will grow up to do a slam dunk or to have a Barbie doll appearance. But after the 2082 winter Olympics, some babies will be created aerodynamic, so they can sail like ski jumpers. Soon, powerful little motors will be added so they can fly, and a new fad will really take off. Billions of slam dunkers will jump for joy, while billions of Barbie dollers will become totally depressed.

As computers have advanced, they have helped us remember, calculate, organize, and clarify. So it has become easier to deal with things, and much quicker. At this point in time, some would claim that the computer has become about as smart as George Bush.

However, keep in mind that today's computer can find and change a mistake in less than a millisecond. With George Bush, it might take about 8 years.

In time, more advanced computers will be able to be creative, respond to feelings in a feeling way, develop intuition, recognize patterns, and suggest innovative alternatives. When this happens, trying to compare them with George Bush would be a total waste of time.

Shaping Who We Are:
Unfortunately, television feeds us with impressive attack ads, appealing PR ads, and sometimes repulsive propaganda. Even when we agree with what we view, it is vital that we become harshly critical of those who attempt to control our minds. Attack ads warp the facts and use lies to control what the viewer thinks, a sickening and undemocratic process. In the future, we need to be free from manipulation, so we can make logical decisions about what is best for us.

Our system has controlled our way of life, and will continue to control it for decades to come. The advertising and marketing strategies in our profit driven system have a big impact on what we want in life, what we tolerate, and what we value. It has had an impact on the desire of people to smoke, to become overweight, to use prescription drugs excessively, to accept an unhealthy lifestyle, and to believe we must be buying wonderful things in order to enjoy life. In addition, television ads pick on the vulnerable. They manipulate children, control the types of toys they want, and make them want breakfast cereal that isn't much better than candy.

Can we change our system? Our system won't get better if we tear things apart. In spite of major flaws, our system has proven to be better than other systems.

By 2010 people will finally wake up to the horrors of the late 1900's. They will see that the cigarette companies got away with mass murder (statistically speaking).

The cigarette companies invaded our lives with seductive advertising. They deliberately added poison to the cigarettes, and then didn't tell anyone. Then they added labels like mild and light, to fool people into believing they are getting less poison. Statistically, hundreds of thousands of smokers died. Around the world, millions of years of life have been lost. History might record that we unknowingly fought World War lll against the cigarette companies.

As we witness more extreme weather, key countries continue to do little to decrease the deterioration. Pressure must be brought to bear on all countries to sign environmental agreements. We must all be ready to understand, to compromise, and to change our ways. It is unfortunate that when huge changes are required, instead of beginning the process, many people prefer to deny the problem.

Some industries will find major changes difficult and costly, so they will be eager to pore money into the political party that promises to take minimal action on climate change. In exchange for a plan that protects their favorite industries, a political party will discover they have lots of money to buy slick PR ads and damaging attack ads (this will allow them to win elections based on lies).

As well, it is important for our future that we broaden our concerns. (As we now look at more negative, we need to use detached awareness, so the negative nature of the negative doesn't become our greatest problem.) We need to be aware of the toxic chemicals in our indoor environments, and the chemicals we feed our bodies.
[valuable information is provided by this website: Guide to Less Toxic Products.]

In addition, many of us live in a culture of violence, feeding our minds with garbage: with movies, television programs, and computer games that make every part of our being know that shooting and violence is fun and exciting (and therefore, it becomes a more acceptable way of behaving). For many, it is their first impulse. Unfortunately, while they might talk of avoiding violence, deep inside they feel like it's the best way to solve problems, the only way that will get real results.

It is easy to respond to all of this negative information with denial, or by simply criticizing the system.
But there is hope if we choose to take action. We can select Internet information wisely, choose healthy computer games, limit our exposure to television commercials, select television programs carefully, keep active, get outside, take a walk, ride a bike, plan to make a major   sacrifice the next time we buy a car, take the bus, make environmentally friendly choices, shop wisely [every purchase is like a vote for more of that type of item], eat healthy, and help build a healthier society by shopping at better stores that sell better food.

After writing this, it impressed me so much that I was off to the local Organic food store to buy some healthy junk food. So, I bought a "Cosmic Power Cookie." It was a good start; quite painless. Many of the changes that are needed probably won't be as painful as we think. [2/21/08 This winter, I rode the bus and found it less expensive, and warmer than driving my car.]

It is tragic that some extremists don't respond to understanding and fairness. Instead, some extremists create their own set of beliefs. Even though those beliefs are based on flawed information, are irrational, emotional, and potentially destructive, many times, history has shown that millions of people are willing to ignore common sense and share their emotions. When they all feel the same, they sense they must be right; so they follow their leaders like sheep.

Hitler is the best example. He was able to develop a tremendous amount of support, and what they did was sickening. Although Hitler was stopped in 1945, he still caused hundreds of millions to suffer; and
ABOUT 45 MILLION DIED!
It was unfortunate.
Instead of doing what he did,
he should have taken two weeks
of puppet therapy.

By 2015, it will be widely accepted that schools and pre-schools have an extremely important role to play in the future of our world.

Saddam Hussein should have spent time in a kindergarten when he was young. Then he could have learned how to do "show and tell." This is an important skill that needs to be developed for use in the adult world where some people have minimal interest in playing "look and see."

Also, George W. Bush should have spent time in a quality daycare. That is where he could have learned how to respect other children, especially those who are younger, weaker, and not as well developed. When George was 4 years old, he could have learned how to respond to a 3 year old who whacks him over the head from behind, then runs and hides. It doesn't make sense to respond by making up lies as an excuse, then attacking a different group of 3 year olds. So when George was 4 years old, a quality daycare could have taught him how to use common sense, and how to be a good person.   While they were at it, they could have also taught George how to not leave behind a big mess.

On the Internet and with cable television we can select information from a wide variety of sources. So we can now choose what we want to feed our minds, and this allows us to build our own reality. As well, we can choose to live a healthier life, to enjoy life more; or we can choose things that cause damage.

So as today's world quickly changes, we need to make reasonable choices about what kind of life we want to live. Keep in mind that if we don't decide, it will be decided for us. We will find ourselves doing things we don't really enjoy, things that harm our health, or things with unexpected future consequences.

In your journey through life, how do you
want to travel?

What kind of road do you want
to travel on?

It is obvious to most that we can't expect the world to operate in a way that caters to our personal needs and preferences. However, when it comes to free time activities, we tend to believe we are capable of choosing what we really want. But you still might find it enjoyable and worthwhile to explore and evaluate the following activities, to see if you can find better ways to spend your free time.