Where Are We Going?

Where Are We Going?
By: Steven Guistolise

Where are we going? Yes, kind of a broad and random question. But if you have a minute, just stop and think… where are we going? Where are you personally going? Where is your nation going? Where is our world going? Again, broad questions, but if we all sit down and take the time to really look around at our surroundings, we may realize that things are moving so fast that we can’t even absorb them before something bigger and better arrives. There are many examples of how fast developing this ever-evolving world has become. Sure, this world is 6 billion years old, and there were bound to be some discoveries, but some discoveries are so beyond us in a way, that you’d think god has personally crafted it from his home in the sky. Let’s all stop what we are currently doing and examine our surroundings, and when we begin to encounter new gadgets and people, and new ways of living, ask yourself; yes, where are we going?
First off, the question where are we going arose. If you don’t get the question yet then here’s where I’ll explain…We, as human beings have been around for a long time and we usually look back to the past, live in the present, and give the future a cloudy hypothesis, right? And we usually remember the memorable moments of the past, try to enjoy the present, and fear the future. We, as humans, have changed, many nations have changed, the world, THE WORLD, has changed. Get ready to see how fast we are truly going, but read quickly, or else you’ll be late for the future.
Humans have been walking this earth for several thousands of years. Some believe in Adam and Eve, some believe in evolution, some believe in humans landing on earth from another planet. Many researchers have said that the first human life form came some 60 to 100 thousand years ago. I’m not saying that this is a fact in any way, but I am just going to go with the scientist’s word to show you how we have evolved within this time frame. One hundred thousand years ago, wow, that was a while ago, but if you really think about it, that’s nothing compared to the Mesozoic era of dinosaurs, which is about 200-250 million years old, where green plants and warmth filled planet earth, and the rulers of this planet weren’t presidents and kings, oh no, they were reptiles. And around 5.75 billion years earlier than this Mesozoic era, planet Earth was born. So, when we really think about it, humans are new species to this planet. If you are a person who believes in a man by the name of Jesus Christ, then you’d probably know that he came to be about 2000 years ago. We are now entering the A.D era, which means Anno Domini, or in Latin: In the year of the Lord. These, in my opinion, are the fun centuries, or should I say kilo-uries. These 2000 years are the most exciting due to the emergence of a phrase called story telling. Many people would get the hang of holding onto stories that have been passed down to them from generations of family and friends. Also, many fascinating discoveries have been found in those 2000 years. Not to say that there weren’t many fascinating discoveries found in the “before Christ” era, because there were. But since this time frame, we have seen a lot of productivity in the world. And since we are talking about people, we’ve seen some pretty influential ones, um, yeah, actually really big influential people. Kings, Queens, Emperors, Dictators, Presidents, Popes, Prophets, Astronomers, Writers, Activists, Athletes, Heroes, Fathers, Mothers, Sons, Daughters, and You. Yes, remember you’ve come into this world as well, and before you leave, you will make an impact in the history of this on-going world. Even if you did something so tinny tiny that it’s the equivalent of a spec of dust floating around the universe, you still contributed. And in the time frame in which you are living, which I would hope is this time frame, it’s strange to see how fast this new word called technology is taking off. I mean technology can do anything, right?
Where am I going personally? I’m waking up in the morning at 6 A.M. from a Serta mattress and hopping in my shower, which was installed by Conchord builders. I’m then going to go eat some Jimmy Dean pre-packaged sausages and have a steaming cup of Foldgers. I’ll then enter my Ford Explorer with my new Sirius radio which pumps out a new tune from Matchbox 20. I’ll end up at school where I will be taught how to achieve a healthy new generation for the upcoming future. I’ll then drive my Ford to Wal-Mart to buy the latest iPhone and iPod. I’ll finally arrive back home around 5 P.M. only to go onto my PC and download songs from my old CD’s, which are finally going out of style, and toss them into a Balls jarring Co. storage box with my mom's Vinyl records and VHS tapes. I’ll hit the hay around 10ish only to awake to a newer and better way to make my day go a little smoother than the previous. And who knows, I may be the inventor of a certain something that improves the world before I die! Then I won’t just be a spec of dust, I’ll be a grain of sand!
I hope you got a little better idea of where you’re going personally? Now, where is your nation going? Well, a lot of nations have been up and running for centuries, such as England, Egypt, Italy, U.S.A…Whoops, Okay maybe not the U.S.A., but how weird is it to think that the U.S. is a brand new country, it’s only 230 years old. It wasn’t around back in the 1000’s, nah; it wasn’t even “founded” by white settlers till the end of the 1400’s. Mr. Columbus and his crew proudly took away the Native Indians land, and the land would eventually be infected with white settlers up until… well, they never left. Hey, some of the Indians got some of their territory back, but it still doesn’t make it fair. The U.S. seemed to have picked a pretty good time to become an independent nation, for the Industrial Revolution was just around the corner. This is the starting point of the world’s cultural fast track. Since the Industrial Revolution, many countries tried competing with each other by putting out the new best thing on the market. America, Britain, and China seemed to love showing off their new toys. Whether it be transportation, clothing, weapons, sky scrappers, anything. You’d think we’d soon be reaching the point where our resources would be limited? You can say we are over using some of these things, cough, oil, cough, excuse me. What will the future hold? Could it be that the world may be hitting its peak and we are getting ready to hit the dive? Hold on to your seats because we may have to slow down our luxurious ways of living. That warning goes out to the U.S., England, and China, because not all nations live like this.
Alright, now for the big question, where is the world going? I previewed a little in the previous question, but it looks like we may have to start to get into a slow motion mindset. For instance, when a new product hits the shelves, there should be a 5-year no new better product label on it, stating that the original product won’t be tinkered with for at least 5 years, then after that, a newer model can be produced. An experiment that has been bounced around under the radar has been to commit a full year to going back to the olden times and use nothing but candlelight and horses. These under the radar rumors are my own, but hey, think of how you could become a part of a big dent in the planet's history. In all seriousness, the world is getting larger and larger by the century and more and more ideas are becoming reality, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but some of these ideas take up a lot of resources. Soon, we may have to retreat back to the olden days, and not just to do the experiment, but because we desperately need to preserve our resources.
I’m so glad you had the chance to stop what you’re doing in this crazy busy world and answer a few questions that don’t seem to come up very often. The world is still turning, and as long as it is there will always be memorable events that help bring this world to a new stage. Some of the events will be tiny and some will be massive, but all of them will somehow help change the world. So, next time you feel that the world is lapping you in a 50-mile race slow down and ask yourself where is this going?