The Words of an Unsettled Soul in 2120

When you read this it will be 2120. That is an interesting date to type on this screen. One-hundred years from now, it is my hope you will have an opportunity to engage with these words. Who knows, you may not actually read these words but possibly through some type of augmented reality you will see me speak these words to your own family. 

I wanted to put these words down because the time period I lived in was so chaotic. The time period, this fabric of society called America was intent on rending itself apart. Maybe that is what you are living in now. Maybe your way of life has been built on the tattered society I once called home.

Home.  Home is supposed to be a safe place. A place you should be able to relax, enjoy the great sounds of Miles Davis, and the love of your family. Home is even more than a physical space. It where you can simply and freely be, you. This is what I was hoping to offer your grandparents. Right now, I simply don’t know what I offered them and by implication you and your children. 

I am sure you know this without a shadow of a doubt. Life can get tired sometimes and you wonder if any of your contributions are actually influencing something of significance outside of your home. This society I and your great-grandmother lived in was such a ridiculous state, I don’t know where to begin. It was the the beginning of birth pangs deep in the womb of a woman who was soon to bring forth a new human being. The irony of that statement is the number of human beings our society killed. Yes we killed at least forty-million. We had human beings killed on camera by what we called police. We regressed and determined people were guilty because of skin color. We once had this freedom to protest in the streets but in 2020 those events turned into all types of violence and people were being killed. 

Then there was this election. 

See in my society we elected our politicians. People had the opportunity to go to these places called polls and make a selection for various persons who in theory were to serve and represent the citizens. Well it had a good run. We turned on each other because people carried a particular mark and intense discrimination and alienation became the rule of the day. I want to warn you, always pay close attention to those who have the power to make decisions which will significantly impact your life. Human beings find ways to amass power at the expense of others. Sadly, this is one of the human experiences and no society will be exempt. I did my best to make people aware of such possibilities but like I said, what significance if any did it actually have in our society? I think this election was the kickstart, bringing on those contractions within the womb of America. What became of us? What kind of child emerged from the lifeless body of America?  

What is unsettling, as I sit here and reflect on my present now and imagining your future, is the strong possibility you will learn about my America and her dissolution, as I read about the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70, the fall of Rome in 477, or the fall of Iraq in 2003.  The first two historical events were simply facts I read, studied, and analyzed. The final event, Iraq, I was personally a participant in as an US Army Officer. My soul is unsettled because I know first hand about the dissolution of a nation and the interim period of establishing a new society. I am unsettled because I fear what I read objectively and lived personally will be the experience of your great-grandmother and grandparents. It is devastating way of life and all I have to ballast the unsettling of my soul is my faith and the hope your situation is far better than ours. 

If by some technological advance you can see my face and hear me annunciate these words, I hope better things for you and your children. I hope that in whatever society you now exist, continue to love, show overwhelming kindness, and generosity. Remember what I passed on to  your grandparents and parents; each human being is an image bearer of God who should be free to determine the course of his or her life and not take that opportunity from others. 

Maybe, I do not know, I will actually have the opportunity to see your face with my physical eyes but know even now, my love for you is deep. So, in that hope I will continue to work with the expectation I can provide you, my beautiful great-grandchildren, a society which honors you.