Present or Future?

Many people live in the now, that is they only think about what is currently happening and not about the future. This, I believe, is a problem. Too many people take for granted what we, people, have now and do not think about what would happen if these were lost. This past month, I read a novel that addresses just this.


In One Second after by William Forstchen, an Electromagnetic Pulse Device (EMP) is detonated over the United States, causing all electronics to fail suddenly. The reader follows a family in the mountains of North Carolina. In this book people have not taken necessary steps to live without technology. This causes massive "die-offs" where in some cities only 5% of the population survives.


While reading, I never understood the title of Forstchen's novel. Then, just yesterday, the meaning hit me like a brick. Just one second after a disaster of this magnitude occurs, the effects are immediate. All events that have occurred until this point become almost meaningless. One second after, the fate of the United States and the rest of the World is changed forever. One second after, the lives of millions of people are changed forever.

People should be living in a state of mind where the future is the most important part. This causes the one second after thought to be less dramatic and catastrophic as it was in One Second After.