The Next Hundred Years

In our everyday world, there is a lot of good out there. People reach out to help one another. Small things like a nod and a smile and large goals like teams from multiple countries coming together to find kids lost in a cave.

There is evil in the world also. Some people will insult others just to make themselves feel better. And some people will shoot one another, over ideology, fear, and misunderstanding, or just for sport.

This, though, has been true throughout the history of humanity. The Romans built great public works: aqueducts, roads, and fountains. And in Rome gangs of youth and even those in power would walk around at night and stab people for sport. It appears there’s good and evil in everyone. The only question is which, good or bad, will the individual focus on.

This week we celebrate an idea,  that all have certain unalienable rights. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. When this nation started out with those ideals, the rest of the world looked at us as being the hippie commune who would not last 25 years. Much to their chagrin our small hippie commune of 13 states has grown to be the most powerful nation in the world.

The challenge lays in our next hundred years. Although democracies have a tendency to flourish, their life expectancy is usually only 250 years.

To beat this timeline, we need to look back to why we started this country in the first place. Then, we have to understand not what we needed yesterday, instead, that which is indispensable for tomorrow. Those are the items we need to build with the same zeal which was put into the Revolutionary War and our space race to the moon.

Have a good fourth and stay hydrated.

Author: Mike Balof

A retired Air Force Master Sergeant, Mike used to lay in bed at night and worry about what would happen if his plant closed or found himself without a job. One day his plant closed. Rather than panic and hysteria (OK, maybe a little) Mike found himself carried away on the adventure of his life. Mike started with the best job he ever had working at Home Depot. He spent 8 years working with job seekers at a local workforce center, helping them to find employment. He then started his own company developing courses, writing books and urging others to follow their own paths into the future. Mike holds a Master of Arts in Adult Education and Training and a Bachelor of Business Management, earned through the University of Phoenix and an AAS degree in Electronics Systems Technology from the Community College of the Air Force. Mike is a member of the Delta Mu Delta Business Honor Society. View all posts by Mike Balof