The future of this country

I have certain concerns about certain areas as well. I don’t know enough about care in other countries to make a fair comparison to other places.

Without complete knowledge I feel that I can’t make a fair assessment.

Care to comment on your concerns?

I feel more money needs to be placed into research for many diseases and all medically related conditions but we are talking about megabucks! That’s a major fundraising issue.

I would like to see more attention paid to mental health care in our society and for people not to be stigmatized or have a fear of losing their job. Mental health can play a big part of other underlying conditions such as addictions.

I would like to see a continuation of addiction being treated as a medical issue instead of a criminal activity. We have started down this path but have a ways to go. I have even heard police officers validate this issue.

I am encouraged by some companies who are allowing time off for mental health issues such as high stress levels and sending employees to rehab facilities for recovery rather than automatic dismissal.

Yes, we have laws in place. They aren’t always respected. Can people sue? Of course they can and the majority of those cases are settled out of court.

Did some news item or report spur you on to post?

It can be difficult to keep perspective. I personally feel that nothing much changes from decade to decade (excepting certain world historical crises) and that people don't vary much either from one culture to another, with all their little ways, for good or ill.

Most people most of the time want to do the right thing if they know what it is and it's not too difficult or expensive; but then you get the occasional hero or villain (or brilliant or terrible situation) that catches our attention and makes us feel either a surge of optimism or impending doom.

I do agree that globally we seem to be living in "interesting times" as the Chinese curse puts it. But then again, I can't offhand name a decade where it was all sunshine and roses, either; and especially not one where the headlines were full of things like "NH standards hit all-time high!" or "therapists switch career as demand plummets - 'Everyone's just too happy to need us,' sighs Dr."

Yesterday evening I met a lovely older couple for the first time. They live on a kind of trailer park (nice trailers), and the wife was telling me that her neighbours are Lithuanian so they can't converse much. But when her husband fell in the bathroom and she ran to them in her dressing gown, the couple's schoolgirl daughter acted as interpreter and the neighbour husband had rushed round, scooped up the older man and laid him carefully down on his bed before you could say "what's the Lithuanian for help!?"

People are only people. Forget agendas, do what you can, and take individuals as you find them.

Yes, I agree. I think most people all over the world want the same thing. We all want to live in a world where people generally care and have respect for each other, acceptance for who we are in spite of any differences. I would like to believe we all have a common thread that makes more alike than different.

I think things are better, and worse. Depends on what you're looking at.

IF you watch FoxNews all day long, you're going to be convinced the world is going to he77 in a handbasket.

If you judiciously read or watch SOME news and don't obsess over it...and just go about your life being kind and gentle--you'll be happier for it.

I rarely see or experience true 'hatred'. I don't engage with people who do. I try to live my religion and love and forgive, I realize I cannot change people and I don't try.

One kind act of service per day, minimum. Gratitude for all I have and trying to spread the kindnesses I receive to others.

It's not that hard.

Any news channel really. Like CNN. Etc. Seems there's more going on

I agree that the country is more hateful. But I keep reminding myself that progress rarely comes in a straight line. Look at what happened after the Civil War. The freed people were given their rights, then prejudice and anger reached another peak and most of those rights were taken away or violated for a long time and were only gradually regained. People alive now have lived through mostly peaceful times, and even in wartime, the country was fairly united. The protests around the Vietnam war seem like a minor blip in retrospect.

I think we've regressed again as greater diversity has resulted in more resistance from entrenched interests who want to keep the country the way it was in earlier years. White, Christian, heterosexual. I think (I hope) it will smooth out over time, but right now I agree, it's a very bumpy ride.

Yeah I guess it will smooth out. Things are always difficult before smoothing out :)

What helps is for people to see the good in others. Instead of labels, people should focus on qualities.

Great attitude, MidKid.

I agree with Midkid that things are getting better. I think it's the media that has many convinced that we are "becoming very hateful". I feel that people are becoming more understanding, more accepting, more open-minded, more tolerant and not less so. There will never be peace on Earth because humans are a**holes but we can each choose to be peaceful.

NY,

I agree. For the most part we choose our own journey. So we can avoid the a**holes and select the path that we wish to take.

It’s definitely the media. And it’s technology and social media. We are more aware of what is happening in this country (and around the world) thanks to the internet social media. Things happening today were happening decades ago but you didn’t hear about it as much because we lacked the technology we have today. I just read a really silly comment on article about the Texas church shooting from someone who said “these things didn’t happen when we were kids”. Yes. Yes they did. There most certainly was church violence in the 1960s and 70s when that person was a kid. There was mass violence too.

I agree with WorriedinCali.............if it wasn't for social media, we wouldn't be HEARING all the hate spewing! People might still be FEELING it, but we wouldn't be READING it from people posting comments all over the internet 24/7! The media doesn't help a bit either, with their slanted reporting. I wish we could go back to the days when Walter Cronkite reported and we could believe what he said was the truth. Nowadays, not so much with all these different networks reporting what's supposed to be 'the same news' but in totally different ways.

I believe people are inherently good. Unfortunately, we only hear about the bad apples spoiling it for everyone!

So true. All these news channels slanting things different ways. It's hard to know what to believe, and we need to take some things with a grain of salt.

I think over time, people have become more respectful. The media would tell you otherwise 😉

The Rose Parade had one American flag at the start of the parade.
Only one.

National flags are flown, by the field workers, in the Ag fields where I live. The only flag you NEVER see them flying is the american flag. Been that way for years too, long before trump was elected. I mostly see Mexico’s flag being flown here.

This is what im worried about

https://www.toronto.com/news-story/9801009-family-outraged-by-swastika-drawn-on-uncle-s-head-at-toronto-care-facility/?fbclid=iwar11uzfryhebxnalfvlcvfdfbeqinguxgfjzlqt3p1hmmmffmtifw7t7uym

Thankfully I am not on Facebook, Twitter, and whatever other social media that gives instant replies. But I see on the news how hateful some of the messages can be. Really now, would these people call up the person and say those things directly voice to voice? It's like the maturity level has been driven down a few notches.

Ff,

Of course not! Like you, I am not on Facebook, Twitter or any other social media because people now just hide behind their screens and say what ever they think without any thought to what it may cause the person on the other side. No one has the balls to say what they think to anyone's face or even on the phone! They are gutless bullies!!!

Freqflyer, social media has given people a voice they didn’t previously have. But you are absolutely correctly that most people who act like keyboard thugs wouldn’t say those things to someone’s face!

For me, social media has shown me just how many sheltered people there are in this world. And how many lack common sense and are just plain ignorant.

I was reading comments on the “Nextdoor” app and there is a post about our local police dept getting a grant for license plate readers. Only purpose is to track down stolen vehicles (and stolen license plates) faster. Now the same people who complain that the cops aren’t going anything when they are the victim of a crime, are the same people throwing a fit about the license plate readers because they think are an invasion of privacy and a violation of the 4th amendment. i Have to limit how often I read the comments on social media because there are just so many stupid comments being posted.

Hey Worried,

I had a friend years ago that said "Common Sense is a Superpower." I think this is very true in today's world.

Social media does really show how many sheltered or ignorant people there is in the world. I think social media has taught people how to be "not human." But on the flip side there are some good points to it--like this forum!

One good aspect is that it's a place where emotionally unstable, potential and actual mass shooters share their manifestos, providing more data for law enforcement to monitor and hopefully identify before they go off the rails.   

Otherwise, I think personal interaction on forums of similar interests are better than mass interaction.    Just my opinion though.   

As to the future of this country, I don't think I've ever been more worried and concerned than I am now.    And since I don't want to provoke political arguments, I'll leave it at that.

Shell, I like that saying and it’s very true! Common sense really isn’t so common.

This forum is great. Its a valuable resource and a great support system. This place is much tamer & the members much smarter and more pleasant than the folks in my local Facebook groups & the local news Facebook pages comments section. My gosh you have to be in a very good mood to be able to read the crap people post there! My city gets teased because we made a list of least educated cities in the country and every day I read the comments on FB and think to myself “you people really are proving that we belong on that list!”.

And I said earlier, the same people who complain f the police never doing anything are always the first (and loudest) to complain when the police do something or receive grants to pay for tools that will help fight crime! They are just never happy! What is really astounding me is that these people are always so quick to defend the parents when teenage gang members make the news-whether one was killed or arrested for murder or some other violent crime—people defend the parents by saying the kids join gangs because their parents have to work long hours to be able to afford to live in this state. Well now these same people are Losing their chit because a car full of teenagers, driven by a 15 year old crashed over the weekend and one of the kids died. They are demanding to know “where were the parents” “why were these kids out at midnight”. So many comments saying parents need to be more diligent! And I’m just thinking.....so my kid joins a gang and does something bad and I get a free pass because everyone assumes I’m a poor hard working mom. But my kid goes for a joyride and loses his life I’m a horrible parent who wasn’t diligent enough. Because it hasn’t occurred to anyone that perhaps the parents of these kids were at work? Or maybe these kids snuck out as soon as their parents went to bed and crashed shortly after? It’s maddening really. As I said on Dorkers thread meaning to post it elsewhere-years ago when my brother and cousin were 12 and 14, my brother spent the night at my uncles house. My uncle was deaf in one year thanks to childhood meningitis. As soon as he went to bed at midnight, my cousin (14) took his keys and they went for a joyride. They didn’t get far, within minutes my cousin who didn’t know the rules of the road, stopped at a red light and then decided he wanted to turn left so he backed up and changed lanes, in front of a cop and was promptly pulled over. They could have just as easily crashed the car in that amount of time. Sure my uncle could have hidden his keys but why? Neither of the boys had ever done anything like this. Anyway !

GardenArtist, I know exactly what you mean. We really need more diplomatic people to be role models. We need a Mr. Roger's for adults.

Cali,

Kids do sneak out after the parents are sleeping. My neighbors kid did that. He took the car and picked up a few friends, came back home before his parents were awake. They noticed a tattoo on his arm. Yep, he got a wild hair up his a** to go get a tattoo.

OMG that is quite a wild hair to get!!! I bet his parents were HPT when they saw it too! And that’s exactly what I mean. Kids sneak out and it can happen so fast! One woman in the comments is up on her high horse saying she checks on her kids multiple times a night and therefore the parents of these kids must not be diligent enough! I want to tell her....your kids might be sneaking out 2 minutes after you last checked them & returning before you check them again!

Cali,

They were ticked off! His dad is an attorney. Hahaha 😂

Sorry, I shouldn’t laugh but when his mom told me about it was crazy. It was his dad’s new car that he took.

His dad is such a nice guy. Both mom and dad are very involved in the community. Great couple. He’s the only boy. He has two sisters. Guess he was trying to be macho or something.

Hey Garden,

I hear you. By the way, no political argument from me. I’m right in the middle! Hahaha I am not democrat or republican. I am registered as an independent. I don’t like extremes in any direction.

Seriously though, some issues should be respected by both parties. I agree with your post.

Another thing I have noticed that some on-line news article will allow "comments" at the bottom of the article. The comments are over the top. Makes me wonder why those new services even allow this. Ok, I know why, more "hits" on the articles help with advertising showing how many more people read this news service.

Back in the day, if someone had a comment they wrote a "Letter to the Editor" and mailed it to the newspaper.

FreqFlyer, you got it - page hits.   If you don't change your home page, you're bombarded with articles, and ads.    And they're often trashy ads.   

But the comments on articles - whew!   You need a shield to protect yourself from all the hostile attacks and the foul language.     I think these are sites where people can publicly but anonymously descend to the lowest levels of writing.

Oh how I miss back in the day! Makes me think about a funny and true meme I saw not long ago:

"I can't wait until I'm in a nursing home. I'm going to write bathroom graffiti about the staff they can't understand because it's in cursive."