James Drogan

I find myself increasingly thinking about the world as it is and might be.   This emphasis has been heighted by my recent 18 months of study at Norwich (see Back to School).  This makes me especially sensitive to information that bears upon the tenses mentioned in the title of this post.

Two items have caught my eye and ear over the last few days.

The first is Joseph Nye on Global Power Shifts from TED Talks.  The abstract for this talk is:

Historian and diplomat Joseph Nye gives us the 30,000-foot view of the shifts in power between China and the US, and the global implications as economic, political and "soft" power shifts and moves around the globe.

The second is Bob Herbert's last Op-Ed in The New York Times of today, Losing Our Way, the opening paragraph of which goes:

So here we are pouring shiploads of cash into yet another war, this time in Libya, while simultaneously demolishing school budgets, closing libraries, laying off teachers and police officers, and generally letting the bottom fall out of the quality of life here at home (Herbert, B. (2011, March 26). Losing Our Way. The New York Times, A23).

Both items provoke thinking about the what we may need to do to prepare for developments.  Hence, thye are recommended to your attention.

A couple of words about the title of this post.  It's intended to convey the notion that future is not as far off as it used to be.