I always try to write things on the lighter side of life. I think that life is short and we need to have as much fun and as little drama as we can before it’s too late. But I do like to research things that can sometimes not be on the lighter side of life. One of those things is what the future holds for mankind. Although I do believe that mankind will continue to rule this planet for many many years to come, it doesn’t hurt to look at some of the scenarios that could bring us to an end.
Some of the possibilities I’ve read about recently are actually so plausible that I could see them actually happening very soon, some are so off the wall that I just laugh, but then I look at human history…, anything is possible. Just look how successful people can be in music that can’t sing or play an instrument, ANYTHING is possible.
We’ve all seen on the news that natural disasters have become bigger and badder than at any other time in recorded history. New Orleans, Haiti, Chile, Japan, India, just to name a few. I’d say this is the most believable of the scenarios I’ve seen. There are many ways that our own planets can kill us. This is a very believable threat because we are already seeing it happen. Heat, cold, rain, drought, floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornados, tsunamis, sinkholes, forest fires, the list is endless. If you live in an area where these things aren’t an issue, you are off to a great start. At least until everyone who doesn’t starts showing up.
Although the news, and politicians (especially in America) talk about terrorism being a huge threat to our culture, I don’t think it even ranks in the top 100 things that can hurt us. Don’t get me wrong, terrorists have taken many lives, and they were all totally unnecessary deaths, but am I at risk from it living in a small town in a neutral country? Very unlikely. Armies are responsible for far more deaths than terrorist groups. I’ll just end by saying all violence is bad. I don’t agree with any of it. But it’s the armies I fear more than the terrorists.
Disease is a freak out for me. Every flu season, the media scares the crap out of us because it’s always said to be stronger than the last seasons flu. SARS, Bird flu, swine flu, fish flu, monkey flu. Ok the last two were fake but you get the point. The part that really gives me the chills is when I hear that governments and armies are designing new bugs and viruses for military use. That should be just as illegal as cloning, and who the hell thought this was a good idea in the first place. Weapons are only good if they don’t kill you too. So whether it’s natural or manmade, disease is one my personal scariest scenarios.
Nuclear war is a scary thought for me, especially because once it starts, it’ll probably only end once all the bombs have been launched. America didn’t have to worry much the last time because nobody else had it. Now everyone has a few laying around. Do you know how many went “missing” when Russia split up? You don’t want to know. This scenario will be the hardest to recover from, fallout, wiped out food sources, sterility, lizard tails growing on humans. Makes me want to move to the north pole.
I strongly doubt the a Zombie outbreak would ever happen, but a new and improved version of rabies is more realistic. As long as a bite is the only way of spreading, it’s virtually impossible for this to happen. But wouldn’t it be freaking terrifying? My wife and I watch The Walking Dead tv series and it’s so interesting to follow the small group of survivors that make up the cast. I won’t spoil it for you if you haven’t seen it, but I will say that in a zombie situation, Rule 1- Don’t get bitten. Rule 2- Don’t lose your humanity. You can become an animal by trying to stay human.
The thought of a third world war is hard for me to understand, mainly because I wasn’t around during the first two. I could be forced to fight in a war I disagree with, I could flee and be looked at as a coward, or I could be blown up before even knowing a war broke out. I don’t know for sure what I’d do. It would mostly be determined by how much of a threat the “enemy” is to my family and way of life. The only time I’ve fired a gun is shooting at a barrel with my grandfather. So we get invaded by barrels, I’d whoop some ass.
I know this hasn’t been my typical lighthearted blog, but my message is that we have no idea what is coming, good or bad. For all we know, aliens could come down, take all our weapons, put our world leaders in a corner and give them a time out. One thing is for sure, we’ve made a lot of bad choices as a species. It’s not too late to do something about it.
Brent I am so with you. I am totally worried too. There are just so many unsustainable elements at play that 30 years from now I think we will all be living a very different existence. The Euro, capitalism, climate, population, starvation, the US and China will all play a role in both the end and beginning of a new era. That and the zombies, mustn’t forget the zombies.
I have also thought about these things. Between natural cycles of the Earth and our own man made shit, mankind is going down.
I agree with all of those. The nuclear war – the amount of weapons out there, and as you said, many went missing, if this were to happen, there would be nothing left at the end (at least I’m hoping so if it ever happened), but then, there could be a small band of suvivors and some zombie mutated humnas… (not making light of the scenario, just a very very vague possibility). The diseases – does art mimic life or vice cersa, with all the movies around of these things happening, it is likely it could happen. i could go on, but you don’t want an essay from me. 🙂
Hi Brent! I have nominated you for a Beautiful Blogger award. Go to http://marjorievasquez.wordpress.com/ to see what you have to do. 🙂