Every four years, the National Intelligence Council provides a forecast of the world for the next 20 years. In March 2021, they released the latest National Intelligence Forecast. As we could have predicted, the next 20 years looks turbulent. It appears we are living in the best of times, and we need to enjoy our way of life while we can. The future of the world will hinge on whether we allow technology and social media to unite us or divide us. So far as a society we are failing in the area of unification. The freedom that the internet allows has spurred some to create division and hate. And I don’t think many of us want to know the evils going on behind the scenes or underground on the World Wide Web.

Although it has its merits, in some ways social media serves as an instigator. It can quickly stoke the flames of distrust. People can unknowingly be convinced of falsehoods, much like the methods the old snake oil salesmen of yesteryear implemented to influence people.

The world is now in our face; 24/7. It’s often hard to tell if things are worse or we just didn’t know how bad things were before the nonstop news and the internet. In the past people heard the news through radio shows or nightly news from anchors such as Walter Cronkite and Edward R. Murrow. There weren’t so many loud mouthpieces that we have today shouting nonsense or downright lies.

2020 and the pandemic created a gaping fissure in our society that had been slowly growing. It cracked growing social distrust wide open. People railed against vaccines, masks, science, the CDC, politics, etc. Social media only enhanced the fissures with its global megaphone. Politicians have not helped to mend the divide. We should choose our legislators who represent us as carefully as we choose our friends.

As citizens, right now, we are being played. Have you ever seen someone stir the pot, get people riled and slither away to watch the fall out while keeping their hands clean? There are those who would rather see us engaged in infighting with our own citizens and with other countries. It’s a distraction technique and keeps us from seeing any wrongdoing that could be going on. For some, it’s just sport.

As for individual states, the National Intelligence Forecast stated that the relationships between societies and their governments are likely to face persistent strains and tensions because of a growing mismatch between what publics need and expect and what governments can and will deliver. We are seeing that now and it will continue as citizens are equipped with the tools and incentive to agitate for their preferred social and political goals and to place more demands on their governments. The widening gap between what citizens demand and the challenges that state governments will face from new challenges and limited resources could create more political instability, and a further erosion of democracy.

As for the world, it’s never been more important that we come together as all countries share the same global challenges, from climate change, pandemics, terrorism, migration, and economic crises, etc. These issues are too large and too complex for any one country to solve.

Educators spend years teaching students how to work as a team in order to problem solve effectively, but when it comes to individual nations, instead of collaborating they choose to spend all their energy and resources in competition against each other. This has to change if we want to make the world a better place for everyone. Real world problems do not stop at a country’s border.

There are people benefiting from this competition, this alienation among countries that keeps us from solving issues and it’s not the average citizen in any one country trying to survive or eke out a living.

We have to cure this type of silo mentality and engage in collaboration among nations to get problems solved and goals accomplished. Have you ever worked at a business or institution where information was closely guarded creating an Us vs. Them mindset among people who should be working together? This type of silo behavior alienates the very people who should be working shoulder to shoulder and creates a competition. It reduces efficiency and damages the culture.

Right now, the Forecast reports the world is fragmented into several economic and security coalitions. They are centered on the United States, China, the European Union (EU), Russia, and a couple of regional powers. They are focused on self-sufficiency, resiliency, and defense. Information flows within separate cyber-sovereign communities, supply chains are reoriented, and international trade is disrupted. Vulnerable developing countries are caught in the middle with some on the verge of becoming failed states. Global problems are barely addressed if at all.

We have to get our act together. Should another pandemic strike that is worse than Covid-19, or other disasters that affect the United States and the world, we will need to step out of our national silo and join forces with other countries. It’s not like we have a Justice League or the Avengers to save us. Based on the report, our most valuable resource in the future may turn out to be social trust.

To view the National Intelligence Forecast go to: https:// www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/ documents/assessments/ GlobalTrends_2040.pdf

Pam Lowe is the editor of the Clay County Courier. She can be reached at pamlowe@claycountycourier.com