A LOOK AHEAD IN TIME

Questions from our children in their FUTURE

Tree – © John Neel

Future Child – “Why is the earth so bleak?

Old Man from the now – “Apathy was the norm. Humans back then could care less about what happened to the world. As long as they had what they wanted and it didn’t happen in their own back yards, it didn’t matter. They buried their heads in fantasy with way too much TV, too many hair brained ideas, too much time shopping or living in Disney make-believe. Trivia was a passion. They watched endless hours of mind-numbing senselessness while filth spewing factories churned out mass quantities of showy stuff for them to consume. They loved their guns more than life. Wars were profitable enterprises. They were wrapped up in themselves, their jobs and their dreams. Cars were used to transport people to the malls to buy all the stuff they thought they needed. People took life itself for granted. Religions promoted hatred over love.”

Future Child – Why are things so terrible for us?

Old Man from the now – “We didn’t do enough, soon enough. Greed got in the way. Money, oil, cars and the mall became more important than trees, the air or clean water. People got sucked into the fantasy of the “American Dream”. People, who knew otherwise, lied about chemicals, nuclear energy and war. The color of ones skin determined ones status. Hatred was everywhere. The world’s religions inspired hatred over love. Women and children were treated as second-class citizens. Poverty and disease were accepted as God’s will.  By the time people saw the truth, it was way too late.  …Ignorance won. …Science lost.” 

Bill’s – © John Neel

Future Child – “Didn’t anyone see what was happening to our world?”

Old Man from the now – “There were some, but not enough. Those who did were seen as anti-corporate, as fanatics and radicals. There were too many skeptics and a crapload of political deniers. They thought that global climate change was a hoax. They believed what they wanted to believe. They failed to see the damage that was being done. Insanity circumvented reason. Money ruled their lives. Stupidity reigned.”

Future Child – “Did anybody care?

Old Man from the now – “I used to think that the young could persuade the old that the world was always meant for the future, that the future belonged to the children and then their children. It appears that the old have never really thought that way.”

Future Child – “What about the photographers and image-makers? Did they try to convince the world that there might not be a future?”

Dream – © John Neel

OLD MAN from the now – “They were way too busy trying to capture pictures of sunsets and buying into all of the photo hype. Many were making senseless selfies or shooting pictures of their beer glasses, their food and their store bought stuff to show their social media. Way too many of them had nothing to say. While they thought they were producing art, their work was vapid and shallow. They desired idealistic images of cliché subjects. They only saw what they wanted to see. They failed to open their eyes. They failed to see the reality. They failed themselves as well as humanity.”

Make a difference for future generations. Give them an environment that will support life and make life worth living.

Think about what is important to the future. See the world for what is actually happening to it. Live your own life accordingly. Be an example for others. Make your art a voice for what needs to change. Fight for the earth and for the future of life. Fight for our children. Fight for an earth that will give them what most have never appreciated. Give them a future that includes the things we have all taken for granted.

Use your photography to reveal the truth. Use it to spread the truth. We have run short of time to make it right.

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