“More than at any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray to have the wisdom to choose correctly.” — Woody Allen

Many organizations go through a process called “scenario planning” so they can be ready for the future. They take the events of the present and project them out five, 10 or 20 years. By doing so, they can start taking steps now that lead to best-case scenarios and avoid steps that lead to worst-cast scenarios.

Imagine it is 10 to 20 years in the future. Imagine that the actions and machinations of the Republican/George W. administration in their first and —– gulp — second term have come to pass. Think about the future of the environment, civil liberties, choice for women, and world attitudes toward U.S. citizens. I shudder to think of the outcome.

Bush and his boys have weakened every environmental regulation they could find. The result being polluted air and fresh water shortages. There has been an increase in respiratory problems, as well as diseases related to a depleted ozone layer. More and more children have been born sick, with lifetime maladies or birth defects. There is serious global warming, due to policies reversed during the Bush administration.

People watch old films, marveling as their predecessors catch live fish, use fresh water for bathing and wash clothes without first treating them with bacterial eater. Due to the dumping of nuclear wastes during the administration of George W., thousands of miles have become an extended and permanent Death Valley, while many endangered species have become extinct.

As unemployment lines grew, George W. Bush made sure that the richest one percent were given tax cuts when the country could least afford it — incidentally, the only campaign promise he kept. The result was a wider gap between the haves and have-nots. Retirement savings were lost and people could not buy the homes they had saved for. Dreams have been shattered and millions of children and senior citizens live in abject poverty.

After years of the Clinton administration reaching out to other countries, Bush went in the opposite direction. The Bush administration’s efforts at diplomacy have failed miserably and the United States is hated by many, including Canada.

By going around the United Nations and saying it was necessary to bomb another country as a preemptive strike, Bush started a whole new trend — other countries decided that they should also bomb other countries, just in case. Because of the trend started by Bush, many countries have been decimated and ancient cultures erased.

U.S. citizens are still afraid to travel abroad and other countries do not welcome them, including Iceland. (Incidentally, George W. and his administration never found those pesky weapons of mass destruction.)

The one thing that made this a great country, the right to free speech, has been greatly diminished during the Bush administration. People who spoke out against George Jr. were labeled unpatriotic. Protesters exercising their First Amendment rights were arrested. As a result of the atmosphere created by George W. Bush, Attorney General John Ashcroft and the rest of his group, their administration has been memorialized as “worse than the McCarthy era.”

George and his policies also started a chain reaction of invasion of personal liberties. Indeed, they made laws about what people could and couldn’t do in their own bedrooms. Gays and lesbians were especially targeted by Republican politicians and Bush Jr. remained silent. Many have gone back in the closet.

As a result of the appointment of right wing judges during the Bush Administration, women lost their right to choice. Many women were accused of being criminals, as they exercised choice. In addition, many women have died or been maimed trying to exercise their right to choice by going to unqualified doctors or self-administering abortions.

These scenarios may seem awful or frightening, but some or all of them are possible if U.S. citizens continue to look the other way as George W. and his administration keep on their current path. But we can change that by getting the word out and voting in 2004.

As always, thank you for reading my column.