Can the Decades Improve Us?

I reach the three quarters of a century mark in just a month. It's the end of a decade already in this Twenty First Century. I'm searching for any signs of improvement over the previous decades. It is very hard not to conclude that "Things are getting worse." Counting on the fingers of one hand - War - Second War - Recession - Debt - Government Paralysis.

On a recent PBS Newshour program a couple people being interviewed weren't sure whether they would vote or not. They didn't see how it could affect their own hard times. And for the first time ever in these sorts of election stories, I sympathized with them.

My preferred candidates didn't survive either the political party convention or the primary election, so as a life-long political activist I have suffered an enthusiasm gap this Fall. In fact, when the politician on the podium proclaims that "America's best years lie ahead!" I silently argue. What major national problem have we addressed lately, with anything like a workable solution?

Unemployment? Housing Foreclosures? Immigration Reform? Energy Fuels and Global Climate? U.S. Warfare Empire? Pipeline and Bridge Decay? Underfunded Schools and Police? Overcrowded Courts with few Public Defenders? The list goes on...

So the question returns. Can the Decades Improve Us? Have we got a chance to arrest this slide? I certainly hope so.

I will vote on November 2nd. And I will be an Election Judge.