The 3rd decade of the 21st century has already begun with a big bang the type of which has been seen rarely in the history of the world and never before since the Declaration of Independence that formed the United States of America. A combination of social, economic, political, and public health crises that occur simultaneously is not something that we have often seen in the past and as thus global leadership is standing at a cross road with the need to make a clear decision in seemingly opposite directions.
This is a time that can make anyone a pessimist should they keep in mind only the events that are transpiring before their eyes; however, such a negative outlook stems from a myopic perspective that fails to take into consideration the short term nature of most crises and the transformation that follows them. A swift look at the horizon immediately brings under the spotlight numerous issues: a pandemic that could take months to end, an economic crisis that could take years to recover from, and a change in the world order that will take us a decade to fully grasp and understand.
Times of uncertainty have a way of bringing both the best and the worst in people and the recent protests following the death of George Floyd that kindled the fire of rage against racism is a clear example of that. Yet, irrespective of how ambivalent times can get, we can still discover meaning and purpose in the present moment and march steadily towards an ideal that can make our future brighter than the present.
We have seen but a glimpse of the drastic changes that are going to take place between 2020 and 2030 and the scope of that global shift is beyond what we can fully fathom with our incomplete information of the present moment but facing with such rapid transformations ought not to prove alarming. After all, change is the only constant and epochs such as the one that we are entering into could very well spread the message of hope as a brief look at history of not only the United States but also of all nations proves that going through such turbulent times only means coming out stronger on the other side ready to tackle the challenges of a new world with new ways of living.
Our lives will be quite different once we go through this decade and by then we have abandoned old ways of doing things just to replace them with new ones, however, having that long term perspective from today will make it far easier to avoid falling in the trap of negativity and doom’s day thinking that alas has crippled many among us. The decade ahead will not be easy but the foreseeable changes are all promising enough to make it worthwhile so instead of giving in to fear it is time to walk with courage and determination towards a 2030 that will in most cases be superior to what we had until before 2020. The decade of drastic changes is upon us so let’s be agents of change rather than victims of change and help others do the same!
Daniel Molgan Official 