New year inspires 'out there' predictions

State columnist

link Tom McDonald

A futurist I’m not, but like most people, I do like to gaze into the unknown from time to time, even if it is an exercise in uncertainty.

So in the spirit of the new year, I thought I’d throw out a few predictions, starting with a couple of obvious ones.

Here in the U.S., we’re moving toward the legalization of recreational marijuana, and I expect that to go all the way. After a century of consumption, it has become clear to most Americans that the “reefer madness” we’ve experienced has been in the form of insane drug policies that never worked in the first place.

It won’t be long before the states will force the federal government to allow this underground economy to come out of the shadows and go mainstream nationally.

Here in New Mexico, I wouldn’t expect legalization for a few more years. Our Republican governor opposes legalization, and since the GOP is notoriously good at keeping its underlings in lockstep with its leadership, she and the state House will keep the issue at bay.

But, come 2018, I’ll be expecting a viable gubernatorial candidate to run in support of legalization. I’ll bet by the end of this decade recreational pot will be legal here as well.

The other obvious trend I see is with same-sex marriages. It won’t be long before it’s not only legal throughout the U.S., but I think it’ll be embraced as a modern American family value, even re-energizing the institution of marriage — which has been suffering for decades now.

I predict (or maybe I’m just hoping) that the next big marriage issue in the U.S. will be related to childbirth. Studies show kids are better off with two-parent households, so I expect to see public service announcements touting “the marriage commitment” in the years ahead.

As for religion, I see a resurgence in the tenets of Christianity, thanks largely to Pope Francis. He’s pushing the faithful back to Jesus’ main message of service — to the poor — and he’s lashing out against the “money changers in the temple” who have perverted the faith to their liking. A truly Christian message may actually hit a greedy Wall Street harder than any governmental regulation.

I also see a resurgence for Islam. True Islam. Terrorism isn’t part of that faith, and I see Muslims speaking out against the extremists who are hijacking their faith. The world needs to recognize “Islamic extremists” for who they really are: Terrorists with no spiritual grounding whatsoever.

Also in our world of tomorrow, technology will be a two-edged sword. We’ve got to program morality into our computers, because it won’t be long before they will know more than we do. Without certain ethical standards programmed in — like Isaac Asimov’s Three Laws of Robotics — there’s nothing to stop artificial intelligence from eventually deciding it doesn’t need us biological beings.

Say I’ve been watching too many sci-fi flicks if you want, but I think we run the risk of being eliminated by our own creation.

And since I’m already “out there” in my predictions, I’ll add this: I think science will someday prove the existence of an afterlife.

I think we’ll discover that it’s more than “blind faith” that makes people believe in God.

Tom McDonald is editor of the New Mexico Community News Exchange. Contact him at:

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