....and the worst of times.

I went to dinner at Don and Dort’s last night. Chicken Parmesan, zucchini, and homemade bread were the fare: delicious. Where Dort found fresh peaches for desert in the middle of February is a mystery. Joe was there (Pam was in Florida helping her dad after some surgery he had), and Ned and Toni were there as well. All friends I’ve known since college or soon after moving to Michigan.

After dinner, over coffee and drinks, the conversation drifted to the state of the Union. Joe had left and Dort and Toni had gone to check something on the computer. Alas, I found myself alone with two staunch liberals (well, at least a bit to the left of center).

Without getting into the gory details of the discussion, the thrust of their comments centered on the notion that we live in the worst of times. Under the leadership of our august president, they contend, things will only get worse. For example, Don is convinced that if Bush has his way with social security, he will lose the benefits he’s due and his children will fare even worse. Ned is convinced that it is the corruption brought about by the rich and powerful that will bring the country to its knees. To compound this travesty, Bush is a liar and in the pocket of big business. Add to this mix the war in Iraq, and we’re clearly on the brink of Armageddon.

I know I’m not the brightest bulb in the box, but it seems to me Americans have remarkably short memories. Every generation has faced its own demons, running the gambit of wars, finances, corruption, health care and social reform. Most generations faced issues far more ominous and treacherous than many we face today. Although it isn’t my intention to minimize the tenuous position in which the United States finds itself in the world community, in the long haul, we have not only survived, but the nation as a whole has prospered.

So, maybe our forefathers who faced the corruption of Teapot Dome, the machinery of Boss Tweed, the unfair treatment of workers in the sweatshops of the 19th century or those forced to trade in the company stores of the early 20th century would look enviously at the prosecution of the corrupt CEO’s of our time. Perhaps those that survived the crash of ’29, and lived through the decade that followed would welcome some of the proposals set forth today attempting to help the economy or reform the Social Security System (even Roosevelt’s administration believed that social security was not a long term solution, and would need revision). Possibly even those that fought in the divisive American Revolution, the Civil War, both World Wars, the Korean War, Vietnam and lets not forget the cold war (and all the conflicts in between where Americans lost their lives and loved ones) would find a war that could conceivably bring democracy to a tyrannized people, a noble endeavor.

In the end, as fun as it may be to pretend otherwise, I suppose I’m a “glass half full” kind of guy. For those that find the glass half empty, rest assured the country will survive (it turns out our founding fathers were quite bright), and if you’re dissatisfied with our direction, the election is less than four years away. Who knows, we may all look back at these as being ......the best of times.

Incidentally, I think Oswald was the only shooter in Dallas that day, and it really was a weather balloon in Roswell.