Forget. That is all it seems we humans can do these days. Forget the dark days of rigid hierarchical societies, in a world devoid of democracy. Forget the profound change sparked throughout the world at the onset of the American and French revolutions, setting a world precedent for fully functioning democracies. Forget the incredible technological and cultural innovations that came about during the first and second industrial revolutions. Forget the sacrifices made by so many during the World Wars, in the name of world democracy and staunch opposition to tyrannical fascism and sadistic genocide. Forget the hardships and atrocities most third world countries go through everyday, at the hands of “civilized western nations,” so that the western world can stay on top. Forget the basic human need for water, food, hygiene and medicine, in so many impoverished regions. Forget the fact that regardless of skin color, nationality, and language, we are all human beings, on this wonderful planet we call Earth, together. Forget the fact that we are on the precipice of the most cataclysmic and irreversible event in human history; global warming.

We are so caught up in our own consumer driven, individualistic mindsets, that we forget the need for immediate communal global action, united not as a nation, but as a people; mankind. Nothing else will halt this irreversible slide into an uninhabitable world for not only our children and their children’s children, but for all of the other trillions of organisms we share this planet with. Amidst squabbling over Brexit, the spreading of malicious rhetoric that only further fractures us as one race, and arguments over immigration practices and political views, we forget the need, the basic ethical and moral obligation, to protect our planet and all of those we share it with. Regardless of nationality, political beliefs and opinions, it is time we remember. Remember that we owe everything to this planet. Remember where we once were. Remember how far we have come. And remember where we could go.