The world in which you live

¶ … Future Perspective

Understandable Reasons for Pessimism

I can certainly understand why some people are so pessimistic about their future expectations. In the United States, the economic collapse triggered by the busting of the so-called "housing bubble" in 2008 have led to the worst recession in recent American history. In fact, but for the actions taken by the Obama administration, many economic experts suggest that the nation was actually on the verge of a potential economic disaster as bad as or even worse than the infamous Great Depression of the 1930s. The nation is committed to two overseas military campaigns and has just become involved in a third conflict in Libya. At the same time, the U.S. is still hated in much of the world, especially in parts of the Middle East, including in nations that control significant portions of the world's natural oil reserves upon which we still rely for our energy.

Domestically, our national political system seems too embroiled in partisan disputes to accomplish the fundamental tasks of governing and legislating. A large segment of the American population seems allied with political representatives and candidates who are incredibly ignorant and who seem to be motivated by thinly veiled resentment over the fact that President Obama is from a mixed racial background rather than by any genuine substantive opposition to the policies and decisions of his administration. Extremists harboring some of those sentiments have actually perpetrated several deadly attacks, most recently, killing several congressional staffers and nearly fatally wounding a sitting U.S. congresswoman.

Economically, the current generation of young adults are the first generation that will not be able to reach let alone exceed the standards of living of their parents after virtually every generation in the past has had that opportunity. Today, the cost of a college education is more expensive than ever before in relation to earning and less government assistance is available than ever before in modern times. Meanwhile, most of the careers that were previously available for those without college degrees have largely disappeared from the manufacturing sector and the types of jobs that were once available to high school graduates are now in sort supply even for college graduates entering the workforce. The nation is threatened by oil shortages and perpetual reliance on foreign oil and one of the most promising options for clean energy is now substantially in doubt after the nuclear disaster in Japan last month. Finally, global climate change is threatening the ecosystem including wildlife and essential food chains upon which we rely.

Putting Things into Perspective