Our Future Society

by Ariel Michael

     My generation like the generation before is coming of age where we must deal with what our future society will look like.

     In the generation before me, John Lennon’s song “Imagine” sung of a utopian society without greed, hunger, and poverty—a world where we live in peaceful coexistence.

     When I was thirteen, I had visions where I saw two possible futures within my lifetime. In one of them, I saw our society where we cared for animals and dedicated sanctuaries for their preservation. We were happy and prosperous. Weather was mild and nature was bountiful and diverse.

     However, in the other world I saw, there was extreme weather with droughts and floods. Major rivers were narrowing, and ice was melting as the seas rose. The people were suffering from intense heat, famine caused by crop loss, and pestilence caused by mosquitos and rodents due to global warming. Governments and economies were collapsing. The rich became poor. People began stealing and wars broke out as resources became scarce. I saw so many deaths that they couldn’t bury them all. Some were throwing the dead into the waterways. The population of the world fell as we were suffering in this world due to our own negligence, greed, and short-sightedness.

     Recently, I have seen a third possibility where we do a little to stop our carbon emissions. We continued to resist and delay the needed change until it was too late to save ourselves from much of this suffering. By the time we all recognized the problem it was too late to change the outcome. However, our future is not set in stone. We have the choice, now.

     Just like Lennon imagined a world, the solution to this problem and others, like our rising population and limited resources, is to develop a world where we work together. What does it mean to work together? It means caring for others over our own self-interests. That is a world much different than today because it means every day in our lives having compassion and concern for others. Are they fed? Are they clothed? Do we reach out a hand to our neighbors to make sure they prosper, or are we just concerned about our own wealth? Are we willing to make personal sacrifices so that others can live with some of our luxuries?

     When I was fourteen, in one of our lessons, Jesus said:

If you have on earth, one dollar and you need just ten cents for food but there are nine other hungry people, this money you can use to help buy them food. You would give ninety percent of your money to them and only keep that ten percent for you. If you give too much to them where you’d be cutting into your own ten cents, then you would’ve done a disservice to yourself because now you can’t eat. When being generous, like in this example, you should give only what you are able to give and not receive back. Any more and you might not be able to provide for yourself or the others again.

     Jesus reminds us to be very generous. For many of us, we are not used to this type of giving or sharing of our good fortune. Yet, it is this type of concern for others that will lead us to a world where we solve our problems together—a world where we are kind and generous.

     Some will tell us these other people should fend for themselves. When we develop a callous regard for others, we reap what we sow and find they too have little regard for us as well. Jesus taught us to be understanding of others and to have compassion and love for others. This doesn’t mean only the worthy ones. This love and concern was for all.

     One of the reasons why Jesus introduced me to Buddha was to show this compassion and love is a universal idea, and religion should not separate us.

     Additionally, any idea such as nations and tribes always involves us versus them. If they are not like us, then we feel they are less than us. We create this callous indifference towards those that are different and thus justify suffering and war against others. Jesus and Buddha both spoke of a need for tolerance and understanding among all.

     So, it starts with us, each of us. We each make a difference on what future we want. We each contribute to the problem or we work together for the solutions. The time is now for you to make that choice. What will it be? Will we choose a life led by self-indulgence and criticism of others, or one where we each take responsibility for a future where all life prospers?

     Perhaps it is possible if we start with each of ourselves to find the world John Lennon imagined. 

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