My ability to invest emotionally in the state of American politics seems to diminish on a daily basis.
Snowden, the NSA, Gitmo, continued insistence on the part of the GOP to whip the dead horse called the ACA, climate change, the glacier like speed of the economic recovery, the rise of what I call Neo-Racism (especially in the wake of the Zimmerman trial), a continual state of war and growing older as the assault on the very foundations of the social compact in our nation by the ultra right faction of the GOP known as the Tea Party has just about done me in. So much so I often feel like the possum in the picture, emotionally dead.
Then I read about what life was like in America during the 30's. The Great Depression (a misnomer if there ever was one. What was so great about it anyhow? ), the rise of fascism in Europe, the revolution in Spain, the beginnings of the labor movement in the form of unionism, union busting, the blatant racial discrimination, the Dust Bowl, no real social safety net and well I hope you get the point.
The point is I feel today's events are the worst the world has ever seen because I'm the one living through it. And as soon as I realize that I know I'm deceiving myself. This doesn't mean everything is sunshine, lollipops and rainbows but it does mean we (the human race) eventually seem to figure out things just enough to avoid disaster on a global scale.
At least I hope so. And that gives me enough to go on. To not give up and pull the covers over my head in the hopes this nightmare that haunts me during my waking hours goes away.
Other than that things are fine with me! How about you? :O)