News

During my life time, I have lived in two Americas. In the first half people were optimistic. The country had survived the depression and won the big war. The economy was expanding and good paying jobs were plentiful. People believed in the American dream and looked forward to marriage and children and the little house with the white picket fence. People had faith in big business and big government. The kids were learning the three R's and families wanted children because they felt that their kids would have a better life than they did. America was the shinning light on a hill. The crowing victory was the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 and America was the only super power. It was called a uni polar world. I was 53 and thus began the second half of my life. That was the beginning of the information revolution which led to a fundamental change in attitude among the populace. The amount of bad news that is currently available instantaneously to most people is overwhelming and people are finding it difficult to cope. Faith in various government agencies is on the decline. Big businesses like WorldCom and Enron exposed the unscrupulous activities of private companies and individuals like Bernie Madoff and Sam Bankman Fried stole from people with their Ponzi schemes. Groups of Hate Americans flourished with claims of inequality and pushed the dividing of the country based on gender, ethnicity and skin color. Equal outcomes replaced equal opportunity and many schools taught that parts of American life were based on the strong taking advantage of the weak. The constant bombardment of negative news forced many people to lose faith in the future. It is possible that much of this negativity has always been there and we were unaware because news was not that available but the fact is that it seems that times are getting worse.