So last night as we were having dinner, my kids ask me if I were to go back to any point in time, where would I go and why?
I remind them of the time when my son was 10 years old and dreamed of creating a time machine and mooted the idea of going to back in time just before God created humankind to issue a warning about the dangers of this new project (yep, true story, he was much sharper as a 10-year-old than now in his teens).
I tell them I would do the same, except I would make a case to God to abort the whole humankind project. They ask why. In my Friday evening wisdom, I thought it was time they knew the truth. I tell them humanity is on an irretrievable path to a certain cataclysmic implosion in their lifetime… consequently they need start acquiring some life skills for a post-apocalyptic world, like learning to hunt, chopping the wood and building a shelter.
To soften the blow, I was quick to point out that there is potentially a bright side to this impending fiasco; when humans were still foragers, prior to the agricultural age, it is estimated they spent only two to three hours per day working, as in hunting and cooking, while the rest was just leisure time.
They look at me weirdly and ask: But what do we do with rest of the time if there is no technology? I tell them you invent new games that don’t require technology.
That’s when they go tell their mother that I am ruining their innocence. So now I’ve been told the words every man dreads to hear: “We need to talk!”
- Seriously though, don’t we owe our kids the truth about their future?