Brighter Days

I try to keep up with current events. It’s not as much fun as it used to be.

We face some significant challenges. Worse yet, I have little faith that our leaders will do much to address them beyond posturing and blaming. 

It’s an election year, which brings to mind my favorite Who song, Won’t Get Fooled Again. The song is over fifty years old, but the closing lyric was prescient:

Meet the new boss,

Same as the old boss

Seriously, If the candidates in front of us are the best we can come up with, then we deserve what we get!

That being the case, the next decade could get pretty bumpy. Here’s a partial list of the issues we are facing:

Exploding National debt 

Expanding wars in The Middle East and Ukraine

Declining trust in formerly respected institutions, including:

-Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches of government

-CDC

-FBI

-Elite Colleges

-Organized Religion

Climate change (Mid-50 degree January temps in Minnesota are spooky)

Environmental degradation:

-Chemical toxins 

-Microplastics

-Mass extinctions  

Opioid and Fentanyl Crisis

Mental Health & Suicide Crisis

Southern Border Crisis

Homelessness

Artificial Intelligence

And if that weren’t enough, Extreme political division

So, why is this post titled Brighter Days? 

Recently, I was listening to an old Dylan album, Blood On the Tracks, and a lyric captured my attention:

They say the darkest hour,

Is right before the dawn.

That suggests it’s about 5 AM in the USA; perhaps a new twist on morning in America?

Prior to retirement, I was responsible for our company’s commodity positions. We managed through quite a few severe market downtrends. Over time, I learned that the best time to be optimistic is when everyone else is pessimistic.

That sounds like today!

Mark Twain said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Historian and demographer Neil Howe believes the long-term social-economic cycle will reach its nadir in the next decade. His latest book, The Fourth Turning Is Here, is worth reading. If Howe is right, a new Greatest Generation will soon begin to propel us forward. 

Come to think of it, our granddaughter is in that generation!  I’ve started watching her for positive signs, and I’m happy to report she exhibits none of the pessimism I see in my contemporaries. She’s only three years old, but let’s face it, things take time!

Today, everything is broken. That’s good news because it means the system won’t be able to continue much longer as it is. 

People (including myself) are pretty concerned about this year’s election. Some say democracy is failing, I think they’re a bunch of whiners. Students of history know there are larger forces at play. I believe in democracy, which means “We the People” aren’t just pretty words to say! Over extended periods, voters have an admirable track record for getting things right. 

It may not feel that way now, but brighter days are coming! 

My greatest concern at the moment is the lack of willingness of people to step forward and take personal responsibility for positive change. Leaders lead, and I don’t see many true leaders when I look around. 

Fortunately, the current leadership cohort is getting long in the tooth, so don’t pay much attention to prophets of doom. When I get a little down, I always think of what Andy Dufresne said to Red in The Shawshank Redemption: 

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living, or get busy dying.” 

My ancestors were among the pioneers who moved off the Eastern Seaboard westward to settle this nation. I feel compelled to honor the sacrifices they made and the hardships they endured. Singer-songer writer Tom Waits has a prescription for that:   

You got to get up in the morning

 Get behind the mule

And plow

Each of us can play a larger role than we think ushering in brighter days. It begins with our attitudes! Remember Apollo 13, “Failure is not an option!”

Brighter days!

Say it until you believe it!

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