John Achenbach's The Future Is Now

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In today’s society, it is not uncommon for people to miss important events and ideas around them. People today tend to be absorbed in their own personal fantasy-land, entrapped by their cell phones to look up and discover the advancing world around them. In “The Future is Now,” by John Achenbach, the author suggests that people live in the present day and don’t see the future coming. Achenbach communicates can that society today is oblivious to the progression toward tomorrow. Achenbach uses diction, logos and irony to portray his message that society should stop in the moment and focus on what the future may have to offer.
Achenbach uses careful diction throughout the passage. When he chose to use the word “soothsayer” in describing Senator …show more content…

Achenbach states that “Not many people knew that this internet thing would change the way we communicate, publish, sell, shop, conduct research, find old friends, do homework, plan trips and on and on.” This proves the argument that society should appreciate what they have because one never knows what the future will hold. When the Internet was first introduced it was only a basic search engine and able to link 50,000 computers. Today the Internet is an integral part of our lives, and it is literally in the palm of our hands through the development of smart phones. By using this example, he further proves his point that civilization fails to consider the future, and because of this we never saw the power that was coming to society in the form of the Internet.
Achenbach states that “the future is being viewed as resources that make problems go away…instead we are finding new problems.” This logic suggests that as our technology advances, our knowledge advances. As our knowledge advances, we find new problems to be solved. Thinking that the future is just going to bring solutions is faulted thinking, and this shows how society is hindered by the inability to think towards the future. Achenbach uses this example to show the oblivious, typical thinking patterns of the world today, thus proving that we will not be able to fathom the advancements that the future will

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