The Future of the World

# The Future of the World<br><br>After you've finished reading this, look around. You’re probably sitting in a room, surrounded by the comforts of life on Earth. Your computer on your lap, your phone in your pocket, the chair you’re sitting in, the air you’re breathing in, the sky above. It’s almost as if we’ve made it. We’ve made it through the struggles and the battles. We’ve made it through the storm. And now we can live in peace.<br><br>But can we?<br><br>There’s no doubt that the world today is much better than it was 1000 years ago. But does that mean we’ve made it? Or are we just walking on the edge of a razor blade? There’s a quote that I love, and it goes like this:<br><br>“Let us not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks.”<br><br>Humans have the capacity to grow stronger, to become tougher, to get back up after being knocked down. But is that enough to conquer the challenges ahead?<br><br>**Climate Change**<br><br>Let’s be real here- climate change is scary. Very, very scary. But we’re going to get through it.<br><br>The human population is finite. We can’t grow indefinitely, so maybe there’s a time when we can look back and say “Yeah, we messed up. But at least we learned from it.”<br><br>The good news is- that time is coming. The world *is* becoming more environmentally friendly. In Germany, for example, 46% of the country’s power is supplied by renewable sources. France is closing down its coal plants by 2022, and Costa Rica aims to become fully carbon-neutral by 2050.<br><br>That’s the good news. The bad news is that climate change is affecting us far more than we realise. Sure, we’re doing our best, but at the end of the day we have a finite amount of time to fix our mess. And if we don’t, the consequences will be severe. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and unpredictable storm systems are all in our future.<br><br>And we’re not going to stop it. The damage is done, and at best we can only slow it down. But hey, that’s not the end of the world. We’ll adapt. We’ll make it through. As a famous poet once said:<br><br>“The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”<br><br>**Covid-19**<br><br>Covid-19 has been in our minds for months now. It’s getting old, and we’re getting impatient. But let’s imagine this situation- you’re sitting on a plane right now. The flight attendants are walking up and down the aisles, and one of them walks up to you. “Sir, I don’t want to alarm you, but the pilot has just collapsed. The co-pilot is shook up, and the plane is plummeting towards the ground. We’re going to try our best to land it safely, but we’re not sure if we can.”<br><br>How do you feel? You’re sitting on a plane that’s about to crash, and you have no control over it. That’s the situation that we’re in right now. Covid-19 has hit us out of nowhere, and we’re struggling to keep it under control. But we’re not doing badly. We’re doing our best, and that might just be enough.<br><br>**Our Future**<br><br>We’re living in a time of massive technological progress. Progress that is going to change the world. But are we ready for it? Just imagine this- there’s a man standing in front of you. He’s standing there calmly. He’s not moving. He’s just standing there. Now, imagine you take out a gun, and you shoot him. What do you feel? Horror. Guilt. Shame. You’ve just killed a man.<br><br>Now imagine this- you’re walking down the street. There’s a man standing in front of you. He’s standing there calmly. He’s not moving. He’s just standing there. Now imagine you take out a gun, and you shoot him. But this time, the man doesn’t react. He just stands there. You shoot again, and again, and again. But nothing happens. The man doesn’t react. He just stands there.<br><br>This scenario is about to become a reality. With the development of AI, we’re slowly losing our ability to empathise with each other. But does that mean we’ve made it? No.<br><br>We can’t let empathy die. Not now, not ever. This is the key to our survival- to our growth. We need to learn to work together, to communicate. We need to grow stronger, to become tougher. We need to get back up after being knocked down.<br><br>We’re on the edge of a razor blade, and we’re fighting to stay alive. But we will make it. We’ll find a way to overcome.<br><br>As a wise man once said:<br><br>“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”<br><br>We’re messy, and we’re imperfect. But we have a future. And that’s something we can build on.<br><br>**TL;DR:** We’re currently fighting climate change and Covid-19. And although they’re huge challenges, we can make it through them. The future is bright, and we’re going to get there. Eventually.<br><br>***Edit:** Wow, this blew up! Thanks to everyone for your support, and thank you for the awards. I guess you could say this post has made it to the future?