I do agree our future is looking pretty bleak, with the debt, wars, terrorism, Supreme Court justice dying, etc.


I'm not really old enough to remember way back, so this is more of a question. Hasn't things always been bad?

There has pretty much been something to panic over since 1776.

Imagine living through the civil war, the Great Depression, WW1,WW2, Vietnam, Cuban missile crisis, etc.

I would think those are more significant events than what's going on right now. And America is still here.





For example, here's a list of wars in order throughout US history.




 1637The Pequot War - Native Indians of Connecticut included the Narragansetts, Mohegans, Wampanoags, Nipmucks, Pocumtucks, Abenakis and Pequots. The Pequots were defeated by the colonists, who were led by John Underhill and John Mason, and the Narragansetts and Mohegans who were their allies
   
 16401640 - 1701 - The Beaver Wars, also known as the Iroquois Wars or the French and Iroquois Wars
   
 16551655 - The Peach Tree War, also known as the Peach War, was a large scale attack by the Susquehannock Nation and allied Native Americans on several New Netherland settlements centered on New Amsterdam
   
 16751675 - 1677 King Philip's War so named after Metacomet of the Wampanoag tribe, who was called Philip by the English. The war was bloody and bitterly fought by the colonists against the Wampanoags, Narragansetts, Nipmucks, Pocumtucks, and Abenakis. During King Philip's War, up to one third of America's white population was wiped out. This war proved to be the final struggle by the Native Americans of Connecticut.
   
 17111711-1713: The Tuscarora War between the Tuscarora Native Americans and European settlers. The Tuscarora are defeated
   
 1715The Yamasee War - An Indian confederation led by the Yamasee came close to exterminating the white settlements in their area
   
 1722Iroquois surrender claims to land south of the Ohio River in addition to counties in the eastern panhandle
   
 17561756 - 1763: The Seven Years War (French and Indian War) due to disputes over land is won by Great Britain. France gives England all French territory east of the Mississippi River, except New Orleans. The Spanish give up east and west Florida to the English in return for Cuba.
   
 1763February 10: Treaty of Paris ends French and Indian War (1754-1763). Canada east of the Mississippi River added to the British empire.
   
 1764Pontiac's Rebellion. The British treated the former Indian allies of the French like conquered peoples, which prompted the Ottawa Chief Pontiac (1720-1769) to lead a rebellion of a number of tribes against the British
   
 1773December 16: The Boston Tea Party - Massachusetts patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians protest against the British Tea Act by dumping crates of tea into Boston Harbor.
   
  For additional facts and information about refer to Colonial America
   
 17751775 - 1783 - The American Revolution creates the United States of America. The Revolution was due to the British burden of taxes and total power to legislate any laws governing the American colonies. George Washington led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War (American War of Independence). Timeline of Wars
   
 1776Chickamauga Wars (1776–1794) Cherokee involvement in the American Revolutionary War and continuing through late 1794
   
 1778July 10, 1778 - France declares war against Britain and makes an alliance with the American revolutionary forces
   
 1783September 3, 1783 - The Treaty of Paris is signed by the victorious United States and the defeated Great Britain
   
 1785Northwest Indian War (1785–1795)
   
 1794Nickajack Expedition (1794)
   
 1805Barbary Wars
   
 1806Sabine Expedition (1806)
   
 1811Tecumseh's War (1811–1813)
   
 1811Creek War (1813–1814)
   
 1813Peoria War (1813)
   
 1811Battle of Tippecanoe
   
 1812War of 1812 begins.
   
 18121812 - 1815 - The War of 1812 between U.S. and Great Britain, ended in a stalemate but confirmed America's Independence
   
 1817First Seminole War (1817–1818)
   
 1827Winnebago War (1827)
   
 1831Nat Turner's revolt
   
 1832Black Hawk War
Seminole War begins
Department of Indian Affairs established
   
 1832Black Hawk War (1832)
   
 1835Creek Alabama Uprising (1835–1837)
   
 1836Florida–Georgia Border War (1836)
   
 1835Second Seminole War (1835–1842)
   
 1836Missouri–Iowa Border War (1836)
   
 1837Osage Indian War (1837)
   
 1835Texas War for Independence begins
   
 1846Mexican-American War begins and ends in 1848
   
 18611861 - 1865: The American Civil War. outbreak of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president and in 1861 the South Secedes. The initial Secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America. The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the opening engagement of the American Civil War.
   
 1865The surrender of Robert E. Lee on April 9 1865 signalled the end of the Confederacy
   
 1874Red River Wars
   
 1877Nez Perce War
   
 18981898-1901 The Spanish American War. On December 10, 1898 the Treaty of Paris the US annexes Puerto Rico, Guam, Philippines.
   
 1914WW1 started 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918
   
 1917US enters World War I
   
 1939Germany invades Poland; World War II begins
   
 1941Attack on Pearl Harbor
U.S. enters World War II
   
 1944D-Day
Battle of the Bulge
   
 1945
August 6: The United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima - ( US B29 Super fortress bomber, called the 'Enola Gay') A 20 kiloton bomb 'Little Boy' kills 80,000
August 9: The United States drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki in Japan (US Superfortress 'Bockscar' bomb was called Fat Man) The 22 kiloton 'Fat Man' bomb killed 70,000 people)

   
 1946The Cold War began between the United States and the Soviet Union
   
 1950Korean War begins
   
 1959Cuban Revolution
   
 1961Vietnam War officially begins with 900 military advisors landing in Saigon
   
 1962Cuban Missile Crisis
   
 1973Vietnam War ends with US pulling out in 1973
   
 1990Iraq invades Kuwait leading to 1991 Gulf War
   
 1991Gulf War
   
 1993World Trade Center bombing
   
 2001September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon
Invasion of Afghanistan Operation "Enduring Freedom"

Reagan

Or something

Yes, there have always been crisis...but this time it's obviously (and inexplicably) different.

No, when Ronald Reagan was President, things were much better.

Hizbullah blew up the embassy and Marine barracks, and Reagan kept the "peace."

90's were pretty chill.

the economy the last 30 years is a church it runs on faith and good will

It's not just conflicts - the economy factors into the overall "feel" as well.
Think things suck today?  Go look up the misery index numbers for the 70's.  It peaked at 19+% by the end of Carter's term.





Are things great today?  No.  Could be much better.





But we're not lined up for blocks waiting for our turn to buy gas on odd or even days based on our license plate number.

 
 

... people will make their happiness, or bring on their misery, largely by themselves

  Eastasia has always been at war with Eurasia....

0bama  has been  the biggest crisis this national has ever dealt with,,  the war from within it will take 50 years  if ever  to remove this asses negative impact to America  

Things are always bad. Things HAVE NEVER been better. One example: Right now I am talking to you using a device the size of my palm. It is connected to a library of data, indexed for my convenience, of every fact known to man. In seconds any piece of information I want can be in my hands. It's a freaking miracle, it's Star Trek, only they didn't have anything this cool.

When were "the solutions" simple?

The solutions, if any there were, were never simple.  Nowhen.    Anybody that believes they were, is engaging in historical amnesia, delusive nostalgia, and Orwellian memory holery.

Your list doesn't include the Battle Over Macho Grande.

The solution, however, is as it always has been:  simple.

1990's.

Stuff has got more expensive. Money is not worth what it used to be. We have millions of losers that are dependent on the government. Our country is weak. Politics are screwing everything up.

In the past if there was a problem the country worked to fix the problem. Now the gov is producing the problems. And we can't work to fix the problem because we would be called extremist.

 
Would you trade the last 3 decades of technological advances for a rollback of 3 decades of government expansion?


I would rewind the fuck out of some vhs tapes and just read real books.

Three decades ago cancer was an almost automatic death sentence, this year they completely cured a child's Luekemia, they kick cancer's ass more and more every day. We are poised on the precipice of multiple medical miracles that each offer the legitimate  chance to radically increase the healthy human lifespan. Once we can get the faith-based out of the way we will again begin the process of permanently eradicating diseases.

On the astrophysics front we just sent a probe to Pluto, we have another on it's way to peer beneath the clouds of Jupiter, we have a robot the size of the ScoobyDoo van motoring around Mars,  and LIGO just opened the door to an entirely new way of viewing and studying the most inhospitable places in the universe. New telescopes of absolutely astonishing size are under construction as I type this, including the THIRTY METER monster in Hawaii--currently on (one hopes temporary) delay thanks to the religious.

I could go on. Page after page of astonishing progress. Every field, every science, every industry. It had never been better. It's never even been close. Even politically things are still pretty damn good. You want to roll the clock back a couple decades? You mean the glory days of the Assault Weapons Ban, and two thousand dollar mutant ARs? Yeah our debt is too high but as a percent of GDP it's not really all that unmanageable. Despite what the pundits and gold hucksters say, the world's big money people still thing America is the best bet. So should you.

On the political front, as most everywhere else, it remains a battle among the boomers to see which faction can rape and pillage and fuck things up the most on their way out the door. With the exception of the perpetually idiotic college children and their teachers, Generation X and Y and Z are too busy working and fixing shit to do more than mutter and carry on. We don't need safe spaces, political correctness, or bronze age boogeymen. We aren't afraid of science, the Russians or Iranians, or even spooky gay people. Nor are we particularly worried about the damage a Sanders or Clinton might do. The politicians will, as usual, fuck things up pandering to the fears of their ancient supporters, but whatever they do we will fix it.

We will fix it and carry on making the world and this country even better. Today is okay, never better, and tomorrow better still. So stop worrying and enjoy the ride.

Yes things are bad and its going to get a lot worse.  However, don't dwell in fear but enjoy life.  Never mind the flat screen, smart phone, fast car, clubbing (not saying you do or have any of these things), but 3B's is all you need.  Ever see poor kids play?  They don't know they're poor and still have fun. Be like that (have fun and enjoy life without harming others), but like the Boy Scouts and the Coast Guard, Semper Paratus and practice Hay-Seuss' Golden Rule.

Lord yes.  I'm tired of the polarization.  The dig in and loud voices of each sides far end idiots is what's wrong.  FFS.