Monday; August 4
Is life really all that
bad? Is our nation at its lowest levels
ever? If we were to listen to the
nay-sayers, we might feel compelled to believe it but let me see if we can put
a bit of a different spin on things.
When we start to think about how difficult things are today, let’s
remember the early 1860s when is it estimated over half a million Americans
died as a result of the Civil War (out of about 30,000,000 citizens). When we hear how tough things are in the
United States in this decade, let’s keep in mind the 50,000 Americans who died
in Viet Nam in the 20th Century (which pales in comparison to the
500,000 who died in World Wars I and II).
When we are tempted to lament modern society, let’s not forget the 20%
jobless rate and the millions of Americans who suffered from poverty and
homeless in the Great Depression of the 1930s which included millions of people
who were evicted from their homes in 1932 alone. When we become irate at injustice, let’s not
lose sight of the fact that there were millions of enslaved people in the
middle of the 19th Century. No,
things are not all rosy today, but let’s not lose sight of the fact that things
aren’t as bad as they have been.
The reason I bring up
this perspective is that I think it is too easy to look at where we are now and
complain. Sure, there are crises all
around us, but that is life in an imperfect world. Should it make us sad, yes. However, we must be careful not to become
discouraged. Is there disparity and
injustice, yes. But when we think about
where we have come from through the years, we are making progress in some areas. No, not everything that has happened in
society is for the better, but periodically we need to stop and remember how
blessed we are today.
If you are struggling
with an issue in life, I am sorry. Yet,
if we are just generally discouraged about what is happening let’s not allow it
to defeat us. Let’s do what we can to
make a difference and hold out hope that history can teach us that our future
can be better than our present.
Think About It!