Appiah How The Future Will Judge Us Analysis

“How the Future Will Judge Us” is an article from The Washington Times and was written by Kwame A. Appiah. Appiah’s article reflects on how rather than celebrating our successes, we must put our energies into trying to improve. This is because, as we judge our ancestors for their barbaric ways, our own actions are reflective of our personality as a generation and we too will be judged by future generations. This article should be taken seriously because it serves as an eye opener as to how this generation should conduct itself before the future.
The nation’s meat industry is in need of more regulation and legal action should be taken to purify the industry. Health is something America has been trying to improve for quite a while now. Examples …show more content…
An odd culture of leaving the elderly to fend for themselves has developed in America. In other countries, it is the norm and the expectation for adults to care for their old parents the way their parents cared for them during their childhood. The author wrote, “My English 16 mother spent the last 50 years of her life in Ghana, where I grew up. In her final years, it was her good fortune not only to have the resources to stay at home, but also to live in a country where doing so was customary. She had family next door who visited her every day, and she was cared for by doctors and nurses who were willing to come to her when she was too ill to come to them. In short, she had the advantages of a society in which older people are treated with respect and concern.” This tradition of parental care is not as widely practiced in America. Because of this “parent negligence”, government aid is provided for elderly. This care, however, is very selective and nowhere near sufficient enough to support someone. Our behavior towards the elderly will not only affect how the future generations will judge or perceive us. The phrase “actions are louder than words” could not be more true. If the generations after us see us ignore, neglect, and mistreat the elderly of our society, when we are the senior citizens we will be …show more content…
The United States consumes more natural resources than any other country in the world and over the years has acted almost recklessly in regards to the state of the atmosphere. We are, as a nation, so wasteful in regards to natural resources that, despite being the world’s largest producer, we are the world’s greatest importer/buyer. Appiah expresses his thoughts by saying, “It's not as though we're unaware of what we're doing to the planet: We know the harm done by deforestation, wetland destruction, pollution, overfishing, greenhouse gas emissions—the whole litany.” Movements like the Green Party have begun to try to combat the harm being done to the environment and to educate the public in hopes to change the attitudes and mentalities of being environmentally conscious. If the environment of the future is destroyed, we will be held accountable which is why change must begin now.
While the author did a great job explaining his main points, Appiah’s delivery could have been improved. The way the author goes about writing the article highlights the issue but in no way suggests solutions. The author does a great job of emphasizing the importance of his issues. However, he fails to provide any suggestion of possible solutions to these issues. Had the author provided potential solutions, the essay would have been far more motivational for the readers and would have given his