THE SKY IS FALLING!!

Then again, the sky is ALWAYS falling

Hey, there’s little doubt but that things suck donkey balls right now. Between COVID-19, a potential war in Ukraine, unrest in Kazakhstan, and the Green Bay Packers in contention to win a Super Bowl, life’s rough. And it’s not looking as if things will improve any time soon.

That’s one way to look at life. Then there’s the historical perspective, which says that if you go back in American history, what’s happening now is just another brick in the wall. Why do I say that? Well, we don’t face the prospect of worldwide fascism. America is STILL the proud owner of the most powerful economy and military in the world. And people from around the globe still bust their tails trying to get to America because they know it’s a land of opportunity.

Are things perfect? Are you crazy? Have you watched the news lately? No, things are nowhere near perfect. Like any time in history, there’s an astonishing aggregation of greed, political provocation, and lust for power. Of course, some folks can’t or won’t play well with others, but that’s hardly breaking news; that’s a recurring historical theme.

We tend to think the sky is falling because the time in which we’re living is what we know. But if you look at this moment in time from a historical perspective, what you’ll find is that our present circumstances may be FUBAR’d…but they’re also SNAFU’d. Historically, our normal IS abnormal whether it’s war, political instability, disease, famine, or something else, normal ISN’T calm and quiet.

Of course, part of the problem today is that information travels so much faster than it used to. More often than not, we’re inundated with news and information before we can process it. So much of it would be beyond our limited understanding, even IF we were inclined to try to understand it, which in most cases we’re not.

So, yeah, things might look pretty dire right now- and this isn’t to say that they aren’t. What I’m saying is that every generation has its concerns and issues. We see our epoch as the worst because it’s what we know, but the odds are good that we can find something far worse if we look at our history.

We may be wondering how we’ll get through Donald Trump, COVID-19, and all of the other crises we’re trying to dig out from under, and that’s a legitimate question. Rest assured, though, that every generation has its “Hell in a handbasket” moment(s). EVERY generation wonders how America will survive given the forces arrayed against it.

America will survive this crisis as well. We can’t know what things will look like on the other side, but we’ll stay. Eventually, the era of Pax Americana will crumble, as empires are wont to do. Another country will take our place, and we’ll end up as a larger version of England, with pretensions to greatness but lacking the ability and wherewithal to truly be great.

Whether that will happen in our lifetime is difficult to say, but it will happen- and it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Being the world’s biggest, best, and baddest can be a tremendous burden. So perhaps allowing someone else to assume that role might not be the worst thing.

What’s the moral of this story? Perhaps it’s that, instead of worrying about the demise of American greatness, we should enjoy the ride while we still can. Instead of focusing on our thoroughly FUBAR’d world, let’s enjoy what’s still working and cherish the fact that we still have our friends and loved ones.

Because, in the end, what matters are those with whom we surround ourselves. History has a way of taking care of itself.

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