The future world will have to be built from the ashes of the old world and from the desire, compassion and wisdom of those who can see and who recognize that humanity is turning a great corner and passing through a great threshold at this time. For the future world that will be greater than your past will have to be approached through a very difficult and dangerous time of transition—a time where many things will fall away; a time where there will be great and increasing environmental, social and economic instability; a time when there will be a great risk of war and competition over who will gain access to the remaining resources.
Nations will become unstable. There will be violent revolutions, even within stable countries. There will be increasing rancor between nations, vying and contesting over the few remaining unspoiled parts of the world. The possibility for humanity to break down is very great under these circumstances and should never be underestimated. Do not be fooled by blind optimism, for you must face the realities of living in a world of shrinking resources and environmental instability.
Here humanity has a great choice, not to be made merely by the leaders of nations, but by citizens everywhere as to which path they will follow. Will they follow the path of contention, competition and war? Or will they seek to find ways to restore the world, to husband its resources and share it equitably so that humanity can have a future, a future greater than its past? Here human unity and cooperation are not driven by a great ideal or by a religious philosophy, but by sheer necessity itself, for the alternatives are far too grave and tragic to even consider.
