Originally published on the CGS blog on July 1, 2014.
I came across a BBC article last week entitled “What our descendants will deplore about us.” The article considers human beings’ trajectories in recent memory and what we are doing in our contemporary world that our children and grandchildren may find unbelievable–and in some cases downright terrible. The apartheid of South Africa and the segregation of the United States, for example, are deplorable to us now as many of the ongoing injustices around the world will look unacceptable to our children.
This article got me thinking about what I would put on a list of issues facing the world at the moment and which of them are critical to address if we want our progeny to look fondly at what we’ve done and the world we leave them. In doing so, I came up with the following as some of the most important goals for the global community to work toward:
- Reversing environmental degradation
We cannot continue to use up all of the planet’s resources as if they were unlimited; they are not. Our continued reliance on fossil fuels, both in our automobiles and power plants, is detrimental to the natural environment and human health. Deforestation is an on-going problem as is desertification, both caused and exacerbated by attempts to extract too many limited resources. The only way forward is to recognize that renewable energy sources, cleaner industrial processes, and less wasteful consumption are essential for human beings to have a bright future.
- Eliminating nuclear weapons/reducing conventional weapons
In my perfect future, this would simply read, “Eliminating all weapons.” However, I recognize that practical steps in the right direction are better than utopias. Nearly 70 years after the United States used atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons remain a serious and potentially devastating threat to human life. The existence of these weapons, let alone their use, represents one of the gravest threats to human life the world has ever seen. In addition to eliminating nuclear weapons, we must also greatly reduce the numbers of conventional weapons that spread around the globe. Most conflicts are fought with small arms, and the world’s major arms producers must recognize that the free flow of weapons causes many more problems than it solves.
- Fostering truly universal respect for human rights
This means recognizing that all people, regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, country of origin, disability, or religion deserve to live happy and healthy lives. It is up to individuals, communities, and governments to ensure that everyone, everywhere in the world can pursue an education, find meaningful work and livelihoods, and access healthcare when they need it. And it is essential to each individual to pursue such a life while being free to express themselves and their cultures and traditions.
This list is by no means exhaustive, but it is my belief that addressing these issues now is absolutely vital for the future. It is my hope that in 50 years, my children and grandchildren (and hopefully myself) can look back at the early part of the 21st century and marvel at how much has changed for the better. I hope that all of the issues I’ve described have been relegated to history textbooks in 50 years and are studied as a source of understanding for where we’ve come from and where we will continue to go.
