How will they judge our century? our generation? Will they cry at all we took for granted? Will they laugh at all we valued above the rest? Will they shake their heads at our mistakes? Or simply repeat our most religious sentiment: 'that's just the way it is' I hope they do I hope they are shocked by our inhumanity appaled by our fascination with destruction disgusted by our selfish pride pity our self-induced stupour Progress will emerge not from our reverence for our 'forefathers' or our kneeling at the pews not from our mythical creations of battles and obsession with sophisticated ways to hate The more they can see us for the brutes we are the more hope I have in those that will come after that they may say We can do much, much better we are, much, much better