I have forgotten why world war I started. One needs to read and remember history for that. However, I do remember that after the war there were some very heavy penalties on the losing side. These penalties eventually resulted in world war II, isn’t it? At times it comes in this little mind that our present actions determine possibilities of what twist future might take – perhaps that is what is future shock.
Let us take another example – wars are not good for anyone, everyone knows this, yet countries (specially the politicians of the countries) create such situations – be it North Korea or United States, these days China is pressurizing India. I wonder why politicians want to control people and their mind – specially in China – and to own land and other things?
I – though not a political analyst – see it as diverting India’s attention from Pakistan orders where China is making CPEC, to move away Indian troops actions against Kashmiri terrorists. I wonder if all these events convert in any disaster of war, because everyone will start taking sides in such cases to provoke world to an almost extinction. All these are present shocks and not future shocks.
A shock is always in the present, not in future! Let us take an example of end of world war II, the nuclear explosion was a present moment shock and loss. We may argue that it was a possibility. However, I still maintain, shocks are always in the present, in fact any experience is in the present. Take an example of climate change, recently US president rejected it in G-20 summit.Climate change is a present shock a truth that we are facing on a daily basis. As a society we never looked at it by asking ourselves what are we doing? We were running behind growth, cutting trees, polluting air, water and soil. I came across this video some years back thought to share it here
Our past acts become our future shocks, yet these ‘past’ acts were ‘present’ when performed and the future shock is observed in the ‘present’ again. So any future shock is a mirage, everything happens in the present, only thing that we can do is – watch our act! Be it climate change, or owning the world (winning landmass or controlling others)
On this note – I leave you with these two videos –
Future shock was (LBC topic) Loose Bloggers Consortium topic where Maria, Rummuser, Ashok, Shackman and I write. You can visit their blogs and read their thoughts on the topic.
PS – Author knows there is a book with the same title, he hasn’t read it though. author knows the definition of future shock by Alvin Toffler, yet tried defining and understanding future and shocks in his own manner.