What's RIGHT with this world?
So I get on Facebook and all I see are links to stories about threats to the funding on government programs, protests against taking away collective bargaining rights, and bills that would place even stricter anti-immigrant measures (to the point of violating human rights). There were links to petitions to save NPR and to vote against laws that threaten women's reproductive rights. It didn't help that at work I keep reading articles about how funding for libraries could be taken away (as if enough hasn't already been taken away!) and how no one uses the library anymore. It's enough to make one shout, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY (or with this world, for that matter)!!?? I'm surprised that I didn't literally wither in despair. When I think about all the crazy things that I hear are happening in this country and in this world, it's hard not to feel a deep sense of hopelessness. It seems that everything good about this country, everything that people had struggled for years to attain is under attack and is threatened to be taken away...at a seemingly alarming rate.
So to take my mind off of all that, I decided to focus instead on a video of a TED talk that a FB friend had posted a link to. It was a very fascinating talk (as most TED talks seem to be) and it served as a reminder that the world can still be seen with a sense of wonder and fascination. I then thought of how we, as a country, seem to be experiencing a strong sense of hopelessness and negativity. It seems that every news story/editorial/blog entry is declares doom and gloom, followed by defeatist, "we're-going-to-hell-in-a-hand-basket!" comments. When one focuses and gets drawn into all of this, it's not hard to lose a sense of perspective. We have to remember that not everything that's going on is bad. Compared to other countries, we still have it really good. In fact, some of our "problems" are the norm in places like Latin America. It doesn't mean however, that we don't have serious problems that we need to address. I just wish there was more of a focus on the good and the positive. I'm not talking about being distracted from the serious and not-so-good things happening in this world (distraction can be just as bad as focusing too much on the negative), but we are in dire need of knowing more about things that are being done for the good and there just doesn't seem to be much information out there.
The video of the talk reminded me that are many new developments that are both scary and exciting...it all depends on how we use these new "tools". My hope is that a country or a group of people will use these innovations to actually accomplish good things. It probably won't be this country, as the developments of the past few years seem to indicate that the United States time as a superpower is at an end. But this is not necessarily a bad thing! It's time for new ways of thinking and there is so much potential out there in the rest of the world. And it doesn't mean that good things aren't/won't be happening here anymore! It's those good things we need to focus on.
Still, it's sometimes hard trying to maintain a sense of positivity and not be overcome by dread and thoughts of awful scenarios. But I can at least try to remind myself to keep a sense of perspective. :-)
So to take my mind off of all that, I decided to focus instead on a video of a TED talk that a FB friend had posted a link to. It was a very fascinating talk (as most TED talks seem to be) and it served as a reminder that the world can still be seen with a sense of wonder and fascination. I then thought of how we, as a country, seem to be experiencing a strong sense of hopelessness and negativity. It seems that every news story/editorial/blog entry is declares doom and gloom, followed by defeatist, "we're-going-to-hell-in-a-hand-basket!" comments. When one focuses and gets drawn into all of this, it's not hard to lose a sense of perspective. We have to remember that not everything that's going on is bad. Compared to other countries, we still have it really good. In fact, some of our "problems" are the norm in places like Latin America. It doesn't mean however, that we don't have serious problems that we need to address. I just wish there was more of a focus on the good and the positive. I'm not talking about being distracted from the serious and not-so-good things happening in this world (distraction can be just as bad as focusing too much on the negative), but we are in dire need of knowing more about things that are being done for the good and there just doesn't seem to be much information out there.
The video of the talk reminded me that are many new developments that are both scary and exciting...it all depends on how we use these new "tools". My hope is that a country or a group of people will use these innovations to actually accomplish good things. It probably won't be this country, as the developments of the past few years seem to indicate that the United States time as a superpower is at an end. But this is not necessarily a bad thing! It's time for new ways of thinking and there is so much potential out there in the rest of the world. And it doesn't mean that good things aren't/won't be happening here anymore! It's those good things we need to focus on.
Still, it's sometimes hard trying to maintain a sense of positivity and not be overcome by dread and thoughts of awful scenarios. But I can at least try to remind myself to keep a sense of perspective. :-)