IS THERE ANY?

     Any what, you ask? Any good news is the answer. It is almost impossible to pick up a paper, turn on the TV or radio or go on line without the bad news just blasting away at one's sensibilities. Someone does something stupid, or mean, or there is a terrible accident, or there is a shooting attack yet again, our presumed leader embarrasses us again and  again and again and we all just hunch over, cringe and try to turn our minds to something else.
     But there appears to be something within our what - DNA, genes, composite, plain curiosity - that turns us to the shooting report rather than the good deed of another. Why? Beats me.
     But this certainly has a consequence. People stop listening or reading about the daily events, here and abroad. They stop paying attention to the news about the grid of activities and happenings that make up the story of our nation. They cede the nation to those who have the patience and the designs to take advantage of the situation and the weariness of the people and they forge ahead with plans to take over or remold the nation in their preferred image. And the outrageous deeds they do seem to fade into the woodwork as there are ever more new misdeeds coming down the chute.
     Can anyone other than the assiduous media workers list all the lies and misdeeds of the Trump administration? It is so all encompassing, from private and public, to a constant and dizzying turnover, to a fear of fascistic government growing ever closer to reality, to the fear that this is what we have wrought, this is what we have made of our country, this is what we have practically given away, even yearned for it under the misguided idea of "Change". Our minds are shredded by all this and to save our own sanity, we turn away from it, saying that we cannot do anything, that we have to wait another three years. 
     Well, I do not think that we have three years left as a safety hedge. When things in so much quantity go wrong, when the leader is a pig, when the leader is immoral, when he can barely string three words together and three sentences together in some form of standard communication that makes sense, when he cannot stop lying or denying facts and the misdeeds of his behavior and actions, when his appointees follow in  his footsteps as they indulge their greed at our expense and are so incompetent or venal at their jobs - what does one do - what can one do?
     So we turn inward. We look within ourselves and our circle of family and friends for satisfaction, for some joy in life. We subconsciously or consciously cut out the unpleasant news of the day or hour and hence make ourselves purposely blind to reality. Understandable? Yes, but dangerous too.
     So, some good news from recent days and the past year? Well, it certainly has brought women together to make the demands for a better life. It has brought people together to fight for those who cannot or who need help in their fight - immigrants, Dreamers, plain old citizens who are rocked by this administration. It has brought together a coalition of those determined to fight for our safety net, our regulatory safety rules over big business, big Pharma, etc. and over those who would remove it all in the name of greed. It has brought more of a realization of the truth and dangers of climate change and the importance of meeting these needs with solid plans and action. And most important of all, it has roused the younger generation who are now determined to see that they remain alive to get to vote and they are promising to use that vote carefully, wisely and with its presumed powers and effects. Good for them!!
     So..... Is there any good news? I turn to friends and family. I turn to the actions of those who ran to help those trapped and injured by that bridge collapse. And then I ask - why was this company doing the building when they had problems before. Another misdeed to put it mildly. I look around and see stranger families as they walk and talk and laugh and hug and yup, folks, sorry state of affairs, but this is where the happiness is today - in our private lives. It seems to be a safer place, a saner place but we must pay attention to the other and larger world if we are to survive along with our families. Is there any? Is there any good news? Yes, if one looks for it and then works hard to make more happen.
     I promise that I will work as hard as I can in my own limited way to make this a better world, a fairer world, a kinder world. I pledge not to allow - at least most of the time - not to allow myself to totally lose myself in despair and hopelessness because of health issues. I will look to aforementioned friends, new one made because of this very issue and oh yes, keep battering away at that deranged personality who will lead us into major danger unless we block him. I will make my own good news if I have to!
     There! My own little statement of resolve and determination and yes, even optimism. This is where we need to be even as we battle those who would wrong us, the nation and the world.