chelsea cook“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way.
In short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only,” so said Charles Dickens in his “Tale of Two Cities” in 1859. Does that have a familiar ring to it concerning life in the USA today?
It is almost schizophrenic to read today's newspaper or to watch the news on TV. That is, the 14 or so minutes one gets to watch of a 30 minute alleged “News Hour.” By the time the newspaper or news reader completes the alleged news of today, one could almost feel suicidal. Sometimes “they” throw us a bone and put in a “feel good” story and we all gush and say, “AAHHH.” Yes, I am also talking about our present presidential election campaign, among other things.
This campaign started about 100 years ago and appears to never have an ending. One major thing wrong with politics in the USA is the amount of negativity. Every little thing a candidate does or says is blown up to be a world changer. Every minor flaw is blown to gargantuan proportions and all people are held to the light of a perfect candle. Ain't gonna happen. With the exception of some of this year's crop, those candidates are human being type people. Those people are going to make mistakes.
Look at our cousins, the Brits. The Prime Minister called for a referendum on staying in the European Union because members of his own party were giving him a bad time. Members of the other party always gave him a bad time. He lost his bet and the United Kingdom turned out to be not so united after all. The UK voted to leave the EU so the Prime Minister resigned. The UK already has a new Prime Minister and it has only been about a month (give or take). Our election for president started over a year ago and still has a lifetime left.
By the time we hear the faults of our candidates it should be believed that each one is second only to Satan and sometimes not even that high. How could it be that the U.S. public is so stupid to endorse two such horrible people to potentially become the leader of the most powerful nation on the planet.
Don't let the political propaganda fool you, if you have ever spent any time outside the USA in any foreign country, you can get a much better sense of just how the USA influences the world and how strong this country really is. The accomplishments of Kublai Khan and Alexander for their day were almost beyond belief. Those accomplishments pale in comparison to the influence and power of the USA today.
The world has always been a mess and probably always will be to a certain extent. Think of the accomplishments that mankind has made over the centuries. If you and I had been born as late as one hundred years ago, chances are that we wouldn't be alive today.
Just think of the diseases we have eliminated in the past one hundred years. Former President Jimmy Carter has been responsible for the virtual elimination of the Guinea worm disease which has plagued Africa for thousands of years. Now African children have a better chance at living. Polio has been all but eliminated and there are vaccines for many other diseases which may soon become extinct.
My belief is that the constant, and almost overwhelming, amount of negative public statements by members of our elected representatives and the candidates trying to take their place has a great impact on our national psyche. If all we hear is the bad stuff then we begin to become totally pessimistic.
Think of it this way: if you beat your children every day and yelled hurtful things at them all day they would turn out to be damaged and negative as that is all they would know. I think we Americans are overwhelmed by too much negative press. And no, I don't have a solution but if you will excuse me I am going to go sit in the corner and suck my thumb.