Some movies glorify it, others portray it as barren and dysfunctional. Whether it will become a lively world full of exciting technological advancements like in Big Hero 6, or a kill or be killed world like in The Hunger Games, one thing is certain. The future is inevitable. WO students’ opinions varied from fairly bleak to extremely positive regarding the world in 50 years.
Dystopian futures are one of the movie industry’s favorite settings. In many of these cases, the situation is a result of international societies’ inability to function with one another. WO is pretty split on this issue. Sr. Zach Snoek said, “It’s hard to tell because of all the different variables, but I’m optimistic and think that countries will work better together.” Snoek went on to state that after taking care of corrupt leaders in the Middle East that cause divisions, the world will more than likely become more united. Soph. Dominic Aquino also agreed with Snoek’s perspective.
Jr. Marcus Whitley, however, thought differently. “I think that if the world continues to progress and evolve the way it has over the last 10 years, countries will be more divided.” He went on to discuss the likelihood of a third world war. Sr. Jake Schaab concurred with Whitley, saying that countries will be more torn apart. They believe that there is potential for countries to come together, but there needs to be drastic change.
When it came to the status of the United States’ relations with other countries, students tended to have different ideas once again. Though Whitley thought that countries will generally be divided, he thought that the U.S. will have very positive international relations. Others thought that it’s hard to tell. Snoek and Aquino both stated that the leaders elected by the U.S. will play a large role in foreign relations. Soph. Jayla VanMaurick took a drastically different approach and thought that the U.S. will, quote, “fricken blow everyone up.”
Climate change is one of the world’s most pressing issues. If world leaders don’t take action soon, catastrophe is more than likely. All of the students agreed that world leaders will finally begin to take larger steps against climate change. However, some thought it may be too late. “We will eventually realize there needs to be change, but it may be too late by then,” Schaab said.
Aquino and Snoek continued to have similar perspectives. “We are making decent progress to reverse climate change, and I see us being able to do this successfully,” Snoek said. Aquino brought up the fact that the U.S. has persevered through other tough issues.“If we can eliminate many once harmful diseases, push through two world wars, increase life expectancy by so much, and make many inventions to better our lives, then I believe we can overcome climate change.”
The world could end up in all kinds of different places in 50 years. From the U.S. blowing everyone up to the uniting the world and solving climate change, students have all kinds of different ideas. Whatever the outcome, students ought to be sure that the world in 50 years is going to be a drastically different place from what it is now.