LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
THE FUTURE’S SO BRIGHT, I GOTTA WEAR SHADES
P redictions often tell you more about the predictor than the predicted. There’s a fine line between making prognostications and drawing up a wish list... And I’m going to cross it. No, I can’t tell you what’s going to happen in the 2020s. But, really, neither can anyone else. No offense to the wise soothsayers in the rest of this issue. They may even be on the money. However, the future always contains a large measure of “unknown unknowns.” Our brilliant savants are drawing up wish lists too, even if they’re doing so unconsciously and with a lot more knowledge and expertise than I have. Me, I’m going to come right out and admit that all I can do is hope for flying ponies and candy-flavored rainbows... My predictions may not be useful, but at least they’re cheerful instead of just right or wrong. Would you rather hear from a sugar-coated ignoramus or a know-nothing who just sucked on an Altoid? Would you rather visit a seer who smiled into her crystal ball or a
fortune-teller who examined your tea leaves and shouted, “Go away! Do not cross my palm with silver! Get out! Get out!” Thus, my forecast for the next decade is... sunny weather! Starting with climate change... It’s happening. But what if it turns out to be a good thing? I live in rural New Hampshire. We could use a month less of winter. In fact, we could use six months less. True, rising sea levels may put New York and Los Angeles under six feet of water... But let’s accentuate the positive – New York and Los Angeles under six feet of water. And global warming may make Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia too hot to be inhabited. Bonus. “ My predictions may not be useful, but at least they’re cheerful instead of just right or wrong.
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American Consequences
7
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