It’s easy to feel as if we’re living in a dystopian novel. As Americans in the age of technology, we’re constantly barraged by bad news. It seems like every time we turn on the television or open up Twitter, we see stories about the latest terror attack, political scandal, environmental disaster, or mass shooting. As soon as we forget the most recent catastrophe, a new one seems to arrive to take its place. Bombarded by a constant stream of alarmist and cataclysmic media, it’s easy to become bogged down and perceive the world as a dark, depressing place. However, I would like to argue that the present is not actually as somber and destructive as we perceive it to be. I don’t wish to imply that there are not problems in this country, there are. Violence, political issues and discrimination of all types abound. I simply wish to submit things are perhaps not as bad as they seem.
Let’s start with the media. When we absorb information from the media, we have to remember the enterprise’s top priority is to make money. In order to make money, they need to widen their audience and write articles to get peoples’ attention, and the best way to do so is to sensationalize their stories. This happens with Tweets and Facebook posts too: More emotional language (especially positive) catalyzes wider visibilityand active attention.Therefore news that is already negative, such as that which covers police shootings, or terrorism, or Donald Trump, often has very inflammatory language. This will naturally appeal to peoples’ sense of outrage and receive more attention. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing; after all, we do need to know what’s going on in the world and for that we depend on a profitable media system. It’s just something we need to keep in mind when we consume content. Real life is not as calamitous as we are told it is.
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We also need to remember in these seemingly gloomy times that, as the decades pass, more and more people in America (and the world at large) have received more and more rights. When this country was founded, the only people who could vote or even own property were white men. However, throughout the years, ethnic minorities, women, immigrants, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ citizens have won more and more legal and social justice. There’s no reason to believe this trend won’t continue. History has proven that each successive generation raises the bar for tolerance, so in the future we are almost guaranteed a more equal, less discriminatory society where more people receive the rights and respect they deserve. Think about it for a moment: it is the year 2016 and a strong, powerful woman is a major party nominee for the President of the United States. If elected, she will success an African-American man. This would have been absolutely unthinkable a mere thirty or forty years ago. Think about where we could be in another thirty or forty years? The future is bright and full of opportunities for everyone.
We also should keep in mind that our perception is not always our reality. Just because many of us think that America is heading in the wrong direction does not mean that it really is. In fact, our country is really thriving. In the world at large, only 6.7 percent of people have a college degree. In the United States, that percentage is much higher at 29.3 percent. Gun violence in the United States has actually been decreasing since the 1990s. Racial discrimination is still a huge problem in this country, one that we really need to work on solving, but by all accounts it is decreasing too. Hopefully in the near future it will disappear entirely. We do have problems in this country; however, the interconnectedness of today’s world means that we can no longer claim ignorance to the issues that we as a nation face. As the cliché goes, “The first step of solving the problem is acknowledging that it exists.” The Internet and increased communication have allowed us to acknowledge all of our privileges, and we have already begun working on balancing them with movements like Black Lives Matter and the National LGBTQ Task Force. We’ve started to mend the troubles that we have. We’re on the right path. We may not have reached our destination yet, but we have certainly started our journey.
Another helpful thing to keep in mind is that all societies experience periods of darkness, and humanity has proven to always come out on the other side. As a recently posted School of Life video reminds us, even great cultures experience terrible leadership and eras of sorrow, and yet somehow continue to thrive. One example to consider is England. King Henry VIII of England was arguably one of the worst monarchs the country has ever had: he created a new church just so he could get a divorce and then executed his many ex-wives. He was the physical embodiment of gluttony and cruelty. Surely his constituents believed their country was on the verge of collapse. However, just a few decades after King Henry’s death, William Shakespeare wrote and performed his first play. England in the 1500s hadn’t been on the edge of a cliff after all. It had, in fact, been on the brink of something great.
So, reader, do not despair. In reality, though modern day America has its share of problems, our situation is really not as bad as it seems. And even if it were to get worse, we would undoubtedly come through to the other side ready to live in the bright future we are creating for ourselves.
