War Cry

“The scouts report hundreds of them!”

“RETREAT!” someone shouted.

“NO! Stand your ground.” Their leaders voice boomed.

Their eyes settled on him, and he knew what they needed. They just needed something, some glimmer of hope. He couldn’t do that, hope had long forsaken them. But perhaps he could make their blood boil and give them the drive they needed to keep going.

He pushed forward, climbing onto the remains of some burned out car, a useless remnant of what was once called society. Before him he saw their faces, men and women, frightened but determined, frail but armed. Their gaze was intense, and unwavering. It settled on him like the weight of the world, his knees shook and the rifle on his back suddenly felt like a boulder. He would have gladly faced an army single handedly if it had meant that he would not have to deliver this speech to those that followed him, some of whom would never again see the light of day again.

He took a deep breath to calm his nerves before saying, “Many of you are scared, I know that, I understand the fear. You think we’ve lost, maybe we have. Maybe this planet is doomed to the shadowy beasts of hell that have brought us to our knees.

“But when I look around I don’t see failure, I see bravery, survival and champions. Think of what we’ve accomplished to get here. But also think of what we’ve lost, the friends and loved ones that we have had to lay to rest. We cannot disrespect their sacrifice by turning back now, we are so close, just one final push remains!

“Gentlemen, I am no fool. The odds are stacked against us, and none of us may live to see another day. But if this is to be our last battle then we will make them fight and scream in their unholy tongues for every inch of the battle ground. If we have to die we will take as many of them with us. We will show them, what it is to be human, what it is that we can do. No matter what it is that comes across that hill to face us, be it god, demon, human or something in between, we will show them the true meaning of fear. They will here our cries, see the flash of our steel and feel the burning of our bullets as we tear them limb from limb. My friends ready your weapons.”

He turned and raised his gun into the air.

“READY YOUR WEAPONS!”

A resounding battle cry erupted from behind him. It had begun.

“So I want to end as I began, with a vision of two futures.”

Dear Future Generations.

Even as I put pen to paper I am unsure as to whether I should be writing a letter of apology or of praise. I’m sure history remembers this decade as the tipping point. The moment where our world crumbled into ruin or rose above the challenges we faced. Despite the current reign of recession, racism, discrimination, famine, war, terrorism and global warming, I still have so much hope for the future. These problems we face today are great, there is no denying that and I’m sure history remembers these difficulties. But they don’t leave me despairing at the thought of what tomorrow may bring. In my opinion mankind has the potential to not only overcome these problems but effectively eliminate them from our world. I truly hope that forty years from now such a utopia is not just a hope filled fantasy but fact.

The global recession is such a huge problem nowadays. Every sort of person from any walk of life is struggling to make ends meet. Long gone are the tiger economies that roared in the past and now people are left to wonder, will we ever live so intensely again? While this may not be the greatest threat humanity has ever faced it is the most pressing issue on everyone’s lips. You cannot blame people for trying to guard their pockets when they’ve got several other mouths to feed. My only hope is that by the year 2050 this recession has long since been resolved and is nothing more then a faded memory from what felt like an age ago. Hopefully money will flow much more freely than it does now and that the harsh lessons we are learning today, will never be forgotten.

Racism and discrimination too, are such huge issues today and much more personal for me as in some shape or form it is something I seem to see each and everyday.  I will never understand why people are so prone to hating their fellow human beings? Why are people so afraid of that which is ever so slightly different? I can only hope that forty years from now humanity has grown passed this fatal flaw. I hope that we have become one big human family and that we not only accept each others differences but learn from them too. No one should be discriminated against for any reason! No one should be subject to racial slurs! I sincerely hope you future generations have realised this and are working together to build a bright future for yourselves.

Global warming and famine frequent our news headlines nowadays along with war and terrorism. These problems seem to amplify one another. To solve one, you must solve them all. I know there must be a solution to them. But I cannot think of it yet. Please tell me by 2050 that someone has. Please tell me that people no longer starve in the streets as a ruthless tyrant wages war with rebels! Please tell me that natural disasters no longer strike cities with such force it takes them years to recover or that people no longer merely accept a suicide bomber as a common occurrence. 

When I cheer and celebrate to ring in the year of 2050 on a New Years Eve far from now I want to see a prosperous, healthy, world at peace. I want to see minorities breaking bread with former persecutors, I want to see a world where war, famine and global warming are a thing of the past. But unfortunately, to want and hope for something is not enough. As of this moment I am going to try my best to make my hopes a reality. But should I fail, I implore you to take up my mantle and strive to make this world a better place. Nothing is impossible, our hopes will become a reality!

Yours Sincerely

Shane Keane