[Sanssouci]

2016 might not have been the worst year ever when you look at it from a general/historical/global level. But at the same time, I feel like we should be way more progressed than this at this point. And it was definitely a way worse year than average for me on a personal level. And on a political level too. Trump has proposed a lot of horrific changes that will seriously negatively impact the lives of millions of people. I think it's ok to be afraid of that kind of stuff even if it hasn't technically happened yet.

[Coda]

Progress is slow. Progress has always been slow. The way the government of the United States is designed, progress is intentionally slow. The way the Constitution has built the US government is specifically designed to keep things stable -- no one wants to live in a country where they've got to wonder if the laws are going to completely change next year, and no one wants to live in a country where there's a risk that someone they don't like can seize power and change things for the worse. The Founding Fathers understood this and put a system in place with checks and balances, so that power is distributed across several groups that make sure the others all stay well-behaved and observe the common good.

Patience is a virtue.

And the same things that make you feel like progress is slow are also going to be the same things that will make all of the doom-and-gloom predictions probably not come true. The office of the President doesn't actually have the power to do some of the things that people are afraid of.

As for Trump in specific: I don't actually LIKE the man, and I didn't vote for him, but the fear about him is almost entirely manufactured. People have attributed a lot of policies to Trump's candidacy that he hasn't actually proposed. Assumptions are made based on things Trump said YEARS ago, not during his campaign. Worst-case scenarios are talked about without regard for the fact that real policy implementations HAVE to take such things into account or else the bills won't pass. And the things that MIGHT be legitimate fears have all of the negative aspects played up, and because bad news travels fast the clarifications and further discussion that would improve on the situation get overlooked.

Make no mistake: This is intentional. There has been a ludicrous amount of effort centered around making Trump look as villainously scary as possible.

So again, this brings me back to my core point: It's VITAL to look for the good things in the world, because people are innately biased to see bad things.

[Moonshadow]

Coda: Well said. I have to agree with you about Trump and how he has been made to look worse than he is. Perhaps I am being a Pollyanna, but I believe that he will be a decent president. My concern as always is the mainstream press, the idealogues with agendas, the fake news cycles that seem to be 24/7 and mostly the oligarchs that rule the world.

Wikileaks has certainly opened my eyes to the machinations by the DNC to keep Bernie Sanders from being a player in the race. There is more coming.

I do agree with Sanssouci that as a society we should be further along, it seems that this year will make or break us I feel. As Americans we should want Trump to succeed, and maybe a new outlook on things is what we need. I don't know what the answer is. WE cannot survive if we become entitled, that cradle to grave socialist entitled society. That is not the foundation of this country. We are not Europe.

As for Russia hacking (which I don't believe) we meddle in other countries' elections all the time. Didn't Obama go to the UK and tell them that if they vote to leave the EU, then they would go to the back of the line as far as a trading partner with the USA?

I will be optimistic, but I have moments of deep despair over the direction of this country, of the violence, and of the press induced divide.