Conclusions
Today, we are faced with a particularly difficult challenge regarding the creation of a viable image of the Future. First, we find this task difficult because there are so many alternatives available to us. At each corner and every turn, we find some contemporary guru who is selling his or her own distinctive image of the best Future, or the probable Future—or the Future from which we should escape through drugs, transcendence, or even (in a compound in Waco or a jungle in South America) death. Because we have lost our “grand narrative,” we are inclined to accept many partial, superficial, and manipulative “narratives” that are not very grand by any standard. A protean stance awaits us.
Ultimately, a new image of the Future in any society must be built on our love of and concern for the welfare of our children and the next generation in our society. This commitment reflects the position I have taken in previous essays concerning the balancing of rights and responsibilities and the harmony of interests. We must find or create a foundation of what Paul Tillich (1948) calls “Grace” that is interwoven with Martin Buber’s (1958) “I-Thou” commitment to a greater good and higher purpose. The challenge inherent in this set of statements is great—perhaps only a dream rather than a potential reality. A bit of Don Quixote’s quest for a better world. At the very least, it is an inter-generational project that is worth our sustained dedication and action.
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