Sometimes, imagining yourself in another time and place can produce a perspective of your current life which could transform you in some way. When you really appreciate the fact that humans like ourselves have inhabited the earth and created histories for thousands of years, not fantasies or characters in a book but real people, and the events in which they participated, have you ever wondered how you would have fit in? Even the relatively short history of our country with colonization and its hardships, the cruel struggle to occupy Indian lands, the brave expansion westward by pioneers, a revolution for freedom, a civil war to maintain the Union and all that followed to the present, what would you have been doing?
All the great nations of the past with histories thousands of years old, many of which still exist, some by different names, could not have imagined what the world would look like today. We too, cannot imagine what the world will be like a thousand years from now. I don't know if the ancient nations would have behaved differently if they had had a glimpse of what would follow but we can try to look ahead, not for a year or two but several generations, and try to imagine what people like us might have to endure because of our actions. Do we and should we care?
For the past 235 years the US has been like a runaway freight train, picking up speed and creating in a short period of time the greatest nation in history but are we about to run out of steam or will we plunge off a cliff? One or the other will happen if we don't reconsider what we are doing. Our situation may have begun because of ideological differences but it has reached the point of insanity. Just as you may wonder what people of the past could have done to change history, ask yourself what you can do to change the early demise of the earth's best hope for freedom of people and peace. Without the presence, strength and power of the US, the chaos which would follow is imaginable. There would be no one to restrain the villains of the world, especially China, but also terrorist countries. Whatever you may think of our country, there is no denying that we have saved civilization many times in our short history, especially in the two world wars.
We are entering a time which will determine the future of our country and the people who follow. The future of our country will determine the future of the rest of the world. Let our actions now include a look ahead to the future and not just our current needs. If we hope that some day thousands of years from now earthlings will look back at us with pride, we must act with them in mind now.
All the great nations of the past with histories thousands of years old, many of which still exist, some by different names, could not have imagined what the world would look like today. We too, cannot imagine what the world will be like a thousand years from now. I don't know if the ancient nations would have behaved differently if they had had a glimpse of what would follow but we can try to look ahead, not for a year or two but several generations, and try to imagine what people like us might have to endure because of our actions. Do we and should we care?
For the past 235 years the US has been like a runaway freight train, picking up speed and creating in a short period of time the greatest nation in history but are we about to run out of steam or will we plunge off a cliff? One or the other will happen if we don't reconsider what we are doing. Our situation may have begun because of ideological differences but it has reached the point of insanity. Just as you may wonder what people of the past could have done to change history, ask yourself what you can do to change the early demise of the earth's best hope for freedom of people and peace. Without the presence, strength and power of the US, the chaos which would follow is imaginable. There would be no one to restrain the villains of the world, especially China, but also terrorist countries. Whatever you may think of our country, there is no denying that we have saved civilization many times in our short history, especially in the two world wars.
We are entering a time which will determine the future of our country and the people who follow. The future of our country will determine the future of the rest of the world. Let our actions now include a look ahead to the future and not just our current needs. If we hope that some day thousands of years from now earthlings will look back at us with pride, we must act with them in mind now.
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