Futures

It's a chance to start fresh. This is where we put all those cares and doubts behind us and come together to solve the world's problems. This is, after all, what makes us such a delightful species. In the movie Starman, Jeff Bridges plays a visitor from beyond who comes to earth to observe us and before he ascends back into the heavens, he says this: "Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you? You are at your very best when things are worst."
And this is what I want to believe. Science fiction informs me on this. If we could just get far enough away from our day to day fuss and grumblings, we would see the amazing things that humans are capable of doing. When they aren't fussing and grumbling. 
Sometimes we see this as the earthers coming together and fighting off the invading hordes of aliens with their pointy teeth and disintegrator ray guns. Instead of turning our military might on the inhabitants of our own planet, we team up to send the creatures back to their planet where they belong. Until the sequel, of course. 
Yes, there have been some less than successful attempts at bringing about peace and harmony through science fiction. Charlton Heston knows this all too well. When he was working on that vaccine and accidentally turned most of the planet into vampires. Or when he was off to visit a distant star and ended up back on earth, only to find that intelligent apes have taken over. Then there was that other time when he found out that the solution to feeding the hungry world wasn't farming plankton, but grinding up people and turning them into crackers. Chuck didn't have a lot of luck with the future. Which may have been what turned him to the NRA.
Then I am reminded that I have an older brother who is working diligently every day to keep my mother warm and safe, and also keeping his county safe whenever floods, fire or other natural disasters threaten. I have a younger brother who has twice traveled to Greece, bringing warmth and comfort to Syrian refugees. This is not science fiction. This is my family and the miracles they perform. Continue to perform. I'm pretty sure that if they were confronted with a race of vampires or super-intelligent apes, they would do the right thing. Just keep them away from those crackers.