What's Next? Join With AlterNet in Looking into the Future

It's not news to you that we are living through a time of unprecedented political, economic, social, environmental, and technological change. It seems to come at us a little faster all the time, every day. The world we thought we were going to have is being replaced by one we never anticipated. Whatever happens in this new century, we know it won't look at all like the last one.

The planet that we live on is being irrevocably altered by our presence on it. Every decision we make, every moment of our lives, has been arranged for the profit of some corporation somewhere. And that fact makes many of us frustrated and angry, and looking for solutions.

Thanks in part to the work of thousands of writers, thinkers and activists on AlterNet, we know what the problems are. We're increasingly sure about how we got here. We're very clear about who's to blame. And we're even beginning to figure out what we need to do to fix things.

But we're still lacking a clear vision of the world that awaits us on the far shore of the change process -- the world that we want to create, that will meet our hopes and aspirations. Until we can offer better alternatives, we cannot hope to overwrite the corporatist reality that's stifling our liberty and our democracy. Without a vivid sense of what we stand to gain if we dare to loosen our grip on the present and reach out our hands to the future, we will never be able to fully let go of the past.

It is time to generate a new conversation -- one that asks: What comes next? And that is why I'm excited to announce an ambitious new step for AlterNet, the launching of a full-fledged, future-oriented "Visions" section, that will be guided by Sara Robinson. (Click here to sign up for the new Visions newsletter.)

Sara is a journalist and futurist who's been writing for years about how people approach, accept, adapt to, and manage change. She is interested in the long view, asking questions like: How do people and societies navigate times of transformational change? What is lost, and what is gained? What might go wrong, and how can we get it right? And what do we need to do to get ourselves ready?

As Sara explains, "AlterNet's new, expanded Visions special coverage area is dedicated to the questions Americans are asking about their future. And I'm inviting you to take a moment and subscribe now, so you won't miss a minute of the journey.

"William Gibson famously said that the future is already here; it's just not widely distributed yet. I will help guide you to the places where possible new futures are already emerging. You'll meet courageous and innovative people already navigating the sometimes impossible-seeming path. You'll encounter some of smartest and most thoughtful visionaries in our midst. You'll become part of a community of people who are working together to explore new ideas about what's possible. Every day, we'll aggregate new information about the future from all kinds of sources -- including some surprising material that may not now be on your radar.

"Among the topics we'll cover: New economic models that take power away from the 1%. Recovering family and community resilience. Sustainable living, in all its aspects. New models for health care, commerce, media, transportation, housing, and other essential infrastructure. The role education, religion, and politics play in facilitating or thwarting change. The future is a big place, and there will be plenty to talk about.

"The journey from where we are to where we want to be won't be an easy one. The news won't always be sunny; but the hard parts of the trip will be easier if we've got a clear vision of the better tomorrow we're headed for, and the sure knowledge that we're not working alone to make that future happen."