The Lily Cafe is thrilled to present author Jeremy Boggess and his nonfiction book Taking Action for a Better Tomorrow!
Title: Taking Action for a Better Tomorrow
Author: Jeremy P. Boggess
Publisher: Self-published
Publication Date: August 6, 2019
Genre: Nonfiction
In our world today there are monumental and exponential changes occurring. These changes are happening not just in the local, international, or global arenas, but even within ourselves. Let us explore the necessary actions and responsibilities that will help guide us into our future.
It is important to look beyond isolationism or globalization. Politics, the different governments and cultures in the world, and our environment are significant contributing factors, but we must also look at the entire world around us. We must examine our different societies, human behaviors, and all of humanity.
The purpose of this book is to have you ask a variety of engaging questions, both of yourself and about the world around you. I want to help you explore the deeper questions so you can find answers that will ultimately help you survive the intense upheavals of today.
Excerpt 1:
Changing World: Beginning or End?
Yes, our world has been changing since its conception. Since the beginning of
time, civilizations that have reached their apexes have either adjusted, overcome,
and/or matured past their growing pains. When they have not adapted as needed,
they have collapsed and fallen into the abyss. Some have fallen, supposedly, due to
their inability to sustain themselves. Or, they have allowed themselves to become
prey to others within and/or without. Societies have also failed out of their inability
to balance elements of their society or maintain the necessary structure within.
They have also failed when they became overconfident, spread themselves too
thin, or forgotten the sacrifices of the past generations which other citizens
remember. And others sadly have failed when they became compliant through their
acceptance of what the future will bring. The weight of their own corruption has
also made civilizations weak. This self-centeredness or corruption has made them
unsteady even without the influence from the history of civilizations before them,
from the self-indulgence of their own present one, or from the weight of how
future civilizations should be. We now find ourselves at yet another one of these
turning points. In the past when civilizations have had tests or turning points, they
only risked the survival or future of their own civilization. The difference now is
that we have the capability of extinguishing our species completely. So, we ask
ourselves, is this the beginning of the end? I say, it is not the beginning of the end,
but the end of the beginning. It is the dawn of a new age.
Our world is truly at the crossroads. Humankind is on the edge of
monumental change or possible extinction. We have come to another one of these
points in human history. One of the myriad possibilities is worldwide civil war. In
the age we live in now, once started, civil war has the likelihood of spreading like a
wildfire relatively quickly. And war is not generally thought of as being conducive
to the survival of the species. Remember that “highly improbable” still implies
some probability and that “insignificant” does not completely negate possibility. I
do not think that I am a doomsayer. But let us say for a moment that the world does
not change its path. Then we may have a doomsday that makes the earth
uninhabitable or results in a world that will be gradually broken down into
nothingness. Or perhaps progress into total chaos which could result into a slow
death for our future. There are countless possibilities that all have their own
probabilities of occurrence. Unless we accept our responsibility, the world may fall
into another dark age and be doomed to countless generations of rebuilding, waste,
or never-ending darkness. The difference now is, unlike civilizations of the past,
we are more connected to each other globally. We all have an effect on each other,
like ripples in a small container of water. Incidents, more today than in the past, are
more connected, have greater effects on one another, have a greater possibility of
spiraling out of control, and have the possibility of resulting in more extremes. In
these ways, it may be unlikely that the phoenix of civilization will rise again if
something drastic happens. Recovery, or even survival, is not certain for our world
or species.
We as a species are on trial and we ourselves are the judge, jury, and even
executioner if need be. However, my hope is that we will at least show ourselves
leniency and allow rehabilitation to build a new future, distinct from that which
seems to be fated to us. It is necessary for me to have hope and faith in the human
race. I remember and have hope in the saying, “every cloud has a silver lining.”
Am I right? Am I wrong? Am I a pessimist, an optimist, or just plain naïve? When
I think about it, I really do not know what I am. I do not consider myself naïve nor
an optimist about the future. I just think—or more accurately, hope—that society is
too aware of what is going on to let us fall. Perhaps we are only misguided
currently.
I believe this time in history will be remembered as the predecessor to either
the greatest leap of a world renaissance or the worst dark age that we have
experienced in our recorded, fabled, or even lost histories. I have a feeling that
when generations in the future look back at this point in human history, our own
time, we will be remembered as the ones who took our species to and from “the
brink,” or alternatively humanity will be rendered incapable of remembering our
history at all. Why does it sometimes take a brush with extinction or annihilation
for a society or way of life to recognize the ills of its ways?
Sometimes, in life, it may seem as if there is no beginning or ending.
However, every second has its own beginning and ending. When people look for
beginnings, they may see nothing but endings. Sometimes we must be reassured
and reminded that there are beginnings, not just endings. We must not forget this is
not the beginning of the end, but merely an end to a new beginning. In the past, we
have had leaps forward, events that have changed the course of history (for good
and bad), monumental discoveries, and advancements—certain times that have
opened the world to marvelous and uncharted courses. In all those times, whether
for the long-term betterment of the world or not, I remember my personal version
of an old idiom: “where there is opportunity, there is hope”!
Excerpt 2:
Fear of the Loss of Culture
World cultures around the globe are experiencing a heightened sense of concern
for the loss of their cultures. Not only is this feeling found within cultures, but
nations as well. Today, it seems, not only are national boundaries dissolving
within, but also long-founded organizations, cultural norms, customs, and
traditions found within and across national boundaries are also being lost. Beliefs
that people have relied on for generations for a sense of stability are currently
drastically changing, or even dissolving. In addition to desire for expansion and
advancement, fear can drive a society. The fear of extinction, of loss of a way of
life, is often a primal motivating factor and can be a driver for societies of the
world to adjust and preserve their vision of society. So, the fear that many have
when they believe that their way of life may be unprotected or threatened can be
appreciated. But they can forget that differences can often bring unknown strengths
to the whole.
In the pursuit of preserving or protecting we must remember that fear can be
a disadvantage. In many cases, fear can blind and cloud the mind. Fear can cloud
judgment. This clouded judgment can impact actions, thus impacting the
consequences of the long-term results. When we become resistant to change, we
can fail to see the potential found within adaptation, as well as fail to see the
beauty and possibilities that come with the survival of differences. This can cause
us to become vulnerable when change does eventually occur. Possibly resulting in
failure. Failure because of our vulnerability to change. For a society or culture to
survive it must change to adapt or run the risk of the fate of most cultures, lost to
time. However, fear may be warranted in the short term for the basics such as
survival. Ironically, at the same time this fear or anxiety can also bring moments of
clarity, acceptance, focus on priorities, or help you possible realize probable chains
of events that are likely to take place. Even though one may be a little slower or
weaker compared to others, sometimes this fear can increase the physical strength
or endurance, mental abilities or fortitude, or awaken or strengthen spiritual
awareness to create overall balance. Sometimes, it brings perspective, strength, or
new abilities. Sometimes, fear can help us remember our priorities or give us
direction. Sometimes, we forget that adaptation within a culture can mean survival
in the face of what otherwise might mean collapse or abandonment of the culture.
Thus, to help long-term survival, we must not fear change or adaptation.
We must not fear the preservation of other cultures either. We must even aid
them, when aid is needed. Preservation of the culture of another today can mean
the preservation of our own tomorrow. It is important to remember that in
preserving others we ultimately preserve ourselves. If we do not make an honest
effort in the preservation of different and diverse cultures, whether our culture is
the current one in favor or not, we can open ourselves up to a greater chance of
extinction, for all cultures including our own.
We live in a world of the World Wide Web, but we still maintain a narrow,
myopic view of it. We often have the most interaction with our “local” (our
personal zones of influence as well as the areas where we reside or interact). We
seem to affect it the most, and it in return affects us strongly. It also often seems
that the “global” (events, society, and everything else in the world outside our
perceived area of influence or the areas where we reside or interact) affects the
local world more than in the reverse. But, in reality, the global is just reacting to
our local world and the numerous other various “locals.” The world is reacting to
the different combinations of these locals. These various “collectives of locals”
include ours and other different combinations and collections of personal
relationships, events, communities, households, cities, towns, groups of political,
social, or other nature, et cetera. Different combinations of these combine to create
different collectives of locals. The global is simply reflecting the actions of these
different combinations or collectives of locals back to the individual local. In this
cycle, we take part in the protection of our local by taking part in the global. If we
believe that our responsibility is to the local and their authority supersedes global,
then we already have the belief of the local over global. Thus, we already know the
importance of our responsibility to protect and preserve organizations, cultural
norms, customs, traditions, and the sovereignties of the local. If we believe that we
live in a world where we must be globally responsible primarily, then within our
global responsibility is the obligation to protect and preserve the local. With this,
we must remember that with our perceived improvements, in this time and our
world, we have not outgrown ourselves and our own human self-centeredness and
irresponsibility—with our increased abilities, we have not outgrown allowing
ourselves to impact the lives of others to their detriment. We have not fully
realized and accepted the responsibilities of what we can create because of our
direct or indirect actions. Unfortunately, we have not outgrown our propensity for
denying our responsibilities to all. We can no longer downplay our personal
responsibilities and abilities to preserve and better the global in the form of taking
and doing the same and more for our local and the local realities of others, without
downplaying our role in the global. Our attention to the local does affect the
global, even more so than we may realize. Increased efforts for both do have an
effect on both. We must do what we can for both, however, wherever, and
whenever we can. Both equally demand our attention, and they do affect one
another. So, doing something in one does affect both. The extent to which they
cumulatively affect one another is not what we should diminish. The fact is that
they do.
Excerpted from Taking Action for a Better Tomorrow by Jeremy P. Boggess, Copyright © 2019 by Jeremy P. Boggess.
About Jeremy P. Boggess: Ever since I was a small child, I have felt that there would be a chain of events set in motion and my task would be to help us through these changes.
I was born in 1971 in the United States of America, and in 2016 moved to Europe. In the 2000s I ran for Idaho State Senate several times as an independent with a conviction to make a positive contribution to the lives of people. In 2008, while running for office, I self-published my first book of philosophical observations, “Thoughts & Responsibilities.” I graduated from Boise State University and Lewis-Clark State College with business degrees. However, since childhood, I have studied philosophy and sociology because of my concern for the future of humankind.
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The author of this book, Jeremy P. Boggess, retains all rights to the excerpts published above, which may not be copied, reproduced, modified, sold, or distributed without the author’s express permission. To contact Jeremy P. Boggess to request permission to utilize the above excerpts, please inquire through the Contact page.
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