Doom and Gloom
“I realize that few phenomena are more tiresome than people of my age, and older, grimly lamenting the decline and fall of almost everything… (Conrad Black, Editorial in “Ideas”, National Post, July 13, 2013)
A decade back, Conrad Black and I were infrequently on the same page. That has changed. In recent years it seems this deeply conservative man has experienced somewhat of an epiphany, perhaps the result of having spent the better part of half the past decade as a guest of the US prison authorities. From reading his frequent comments, it seems he came to realize that many of his fellow prisoners, more than a few of which were lifers, presented far less danger to American society than a good many of the Bay Street and Wall Street Traders who were likely to be his associates in earlier years.
For that matter, in his earlier life Conrad Black was likely a much greater threat to society when he had access to millions (of dollars) and his own newspaper chain in which could defend the very rich who shared his deeply conservative ideas. But that was then and this is now and it 
gives me hope that when an obviously very capable man such as Conrad Black, can change his stripes, there is hope for others. What of those others who maintain a deep critical streak and who seem to line up along the the far right, those who seem only capable of looking backwards towards the “good old days” as a time when they felt at one with the world.
At my regular Tim Horton’s coffee stop, it never ceases to amaze me how many good friends and acquaintances who, shall we say, are in the second half of life, lament about the declining state of the world.
Young people are most often the recipients of much of their disfavour as are immigrants, particularly immigrants of certain cultural and religious backgrounds. Facebook posts and private emails by these same individuals often express dismay about the young, visible minorities and the general state of world affairs. And, for goodness sakes, don’t ever get them on the subject of taxes or ‘declining’ hospital care.
Strangely, many of these same folks were once young (at least I think they were, but perhaps they have always been old) and they or their parents or grandparents, came from immigrant stock. Most have been around long enough to full well know what happened over the first seventy-five years of the last century — two world wars, a major depression as well as a number of localized wars that culminated in that disaster called Viet Nam. During those years, upwards of one hundred million people were killed and three times that many seriously injured. Beyond that, flu epidemics and famine killed millions more. Have these people simply forgotten the extreme hardships visited upon their parents and grandparents?
Very few, if any, of those whom I regularly encounter have fallen upon hard times. Most own a home with all the comforts, they have plenty of food, a sparkling new car, perhaps two, and many have travelled extensively to exotic destinations around the world. What his there to complain about?
Each time the conversation takes a turn towards complaining on these subjects, I take a few moments to inject a few counterpoints about how the world has vastly improved, as a means to get things back on a more even track. Often the response is positive when they come to realize just how good we have things.
I often wonder if this initial negativity comes from a fear that in growing older they have lost control of a world that now belongs to the young. As well, a good many of the new immigrants have different cultural and religious practices than that of our forefathers who were either Christians or Jews. No doubt mass media contributes to the problem by presenting a world filled that seems to be with negativity and fear, just as do governments peddle a daily dose of doom and gloom as a means gain supporters in order to secure votes.
The next time you are sitting around chatting over coffee, reading your Facebook posts or an email in which someone drifts off on this tangent, take a few moments to respectfully respond with a few positive comments or words of encouragement about the other side of the coin.
Cheers
Harold
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