With all the news stories about corruption, violence, and just plain rotten behavior, my sons often ask me “Has it ever been this bad before?” In my 60 years of life, I’ve looked back and struggled, not knowing how to answer that question. 

I think I had this fantasy that as I got older, things around me would make more sense. And looking at personal events in my life didn’t help! When I first wrote the original bio sketch below, I had no idea that I would end up writing a book about the worst in human beings and an example of a legal system gone toxic.  

The last four and a half years has been a maelstrom of disillusion and despair in everything I had believed in. Since I covered the worst events in the book, I wanted to find some of the idealism, hope, and optimism that had always led me. I even had the courage to put a photo of myself on this website. Granted, it was from my 50^th birthday. I’ve been rather camera-shy since the accident described in the book.  

My friends said the winds of change were blowing through the country. I’ve been working hard to find hope and new enthusiasm. 

Then I spent Martin Luther King Day watching a two-hour special by Tom Brokaw about “1968.”  Reliving the events of that year and remembering the effect they had on my personal life shocked me into tears. I heard Tommy Smothers say “I miss the optimism.” I heard Arlo Guthrie say he too thought we would “begin to relax as human beings and get along.” 

And I began to understand why I was having trouble answering my sons’ question. It wasn’t the venom I’d experienced since 2004; it was that venom hadn’t gone away. I have no idea whether we cover up more corruption now or then. I have no idea whether there is actually more violence. I just know there was too much venom then and there’s too much now! 

Someone interviewed complained about those foolish young people who “thought what you thought was right” and would go to any lengths to change the system. Someone else said the “culture wars began” then. But class disagreements have always existed in this country. My impression is that the 1960’s were just the first time people complained loudly in public instead of griping in private. 

And I can’t blame one generation of youth. I’m not certain there is a difference between the instant changes demanded by the radicals of the ’60’s and the demand for a magic pill, cure-all surgery, or financial bailout of this generation. Both want instant gratification. If the baby boomers are sometimes called “spoiled and self-indulgent,” then what is the characteristic of this nation listening to a constant barrage of commercials promising instant cures for pain, age, and fear? People today who hate those who disagree with their beliefs are no less venomous than officials of the Inquisition! 
 

Mr. Brokaw asked what was worth keeping and what should be thrown out? The first thing I thought of was that silly old slogan “Love it or Leave it.” I had the idealistic notion that if you loved this country, you should stay and try to improve it. I still do. I still prefer troublemaking whistleblowers to polite hypocrites. There are things wrong that need to be fixed. Love means having the courage to tackle the job of repair. 

We went to the moon that same year. One of the astronauts recalled seeing the earth rise over the moon’s horizon and realizing for the first time “really how fragile the Earth is and how limited our resources.” Amen! That’s still true. And it’s as simple as this: if we’re not doing things to improve conditions, we’re allowing their destruction. That’s as true for the welfare of human beings as it is for the physical environment. 

No matter what your politics, no matter what your religious beliefs, no matter what your race, no matter what you see as differences, we are all human. There’s only one way for us to survive: Co-exist and Cooperate!  

Mr. Obama, I wish you well. Don’t let the venom discourage you. Keep trying and we’ll all find hope. Because the alternative is despair!

This entry was posted on Monday, January 19th, 2009 at 6:56 pm and is filed under Psychotherapy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.