I've made a realization, by watching various historical documentaries, movies and what not, that my generation, perhaps one above and all below, have no context at all about the relative state of the world, or at least our own country. All of this anger and toxicity you see in the news, over the economy and politics and anything else, is frankly a little stupid.
Consider this: We're not in a war costing an extraordinary amount of lives like Vietnam. We're not seeing lines at soup kitchens wrapping around the block, every day and all day in affluent cities as in the Great Depression. We don't have people marching on Washington for equal rights denied to them for the color of their skin. Protesters exercising their right to free speech aren't being shot down as they did at Kent State. Presidents and political figures aren't being gunned down like the Kennedy's or MLK.
People need to find a little fucking perspective. High unemployment and a slowly recovering economy suck, but it could be a hell of a lot worse.
Perhaps people just need something to fear or hate to get along. If that's the case, it's a wonder the human race has managed to survive at all.
Twenty years ago, we didn't carry phones in our pockets, keep social connections with people over the Internet or enjoy football games on 60" TV's. The world is so much more amazing than it was, and I'm tired of the assholes who do nothing but bitch and moan about how awful it is. You don't realize how great you have it. And as someone who spent seven months last year unemployed (and did not collect unemployment), and has two houses to sell, I think I'm entitled more than most people to bitch and moan, and certainly more qualified. I don't, because I have a little perspective. That, and I'm willing to do something about the things that are suboptimal.