Let me start by saying that I, like you, am appalled by the 2016 United States Presidential election. Someone will claim the winning ticket in this fiasco, that I know. It doesn’t matter on which side the chips fall, we the American people, and those affected by the actions and policies of the United States (pretty much everyone to some degree) will lose.
It seems the media’s role is constantly bombarding us with eyeball grabbing headlines announcing the latest in human depravity. I’ve seen this going on for as long as I could read, and I expect it to continue for as long as the media as we know it exists. Its just the nature of the beast and it will do little good to fight it.
Now having said all this, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that I think the world at large is heading in the right direction. I don’t believe for one second that the headlines we click and follow are representative of the human condition at large. I think most people are decent and honest with similar values as my own. Many are misguided to be sure, but the majority I think have a good heart and are willing to lend a helping hand when given the opportunity.
I’m honestly not entirely sure were this optimism comes from. It’s just something deep in my gut that tells me its all going to be ok. It’s all going to work out. Eventually, the power of goodness and love will win out. I think humankind is making great progress towards eradicating so many of the blights and ugly parts of our shared history and culture. We still have a long way to go and many social injustices left to conquer but taken on the whole I believe we are moving in the right direction.
If you look at the rate of technological innovation in the last hundred years the exponential increase in human capability and its impact for good on the human condition is staggering. I believe a similar revolution in social and human relations is on the horizon too. We may not see that exponential growth in my life time, but it’s coming. I really believe that.
I was thrilled recently when I ran across a bi-weekly newsletter from Future Crunch. This amazing newsletter delivers a few uplifting paragraphs on what is going well in the world and is then followed by a slew of links to articles and essays proving the point. The links fall into three categories; Good news you probably didn't hear about, Science fiction headlines, and Stuff we loved. All good stuff (!) and exactly the kinds of things that give me hope that this unshakable feeling that the world isn’t so bad after all might be right. I you haven’t subscribed already I encourage you to do so. You won’t regret it.