Sunday morning, August 13, 2017 

I’ve been watching tv…all the morning news shows that I used to use to catch up on the weeks events; now I have apps that notify me when Trump farts. 

I admit to having been drawn into the drama lately, the daily unfolding of events, the rapid acceleration shaking the foundations of social structure and scaring the shit out of a lot of people. We have  a situation where the leader of the most powerful, and therefore potentially the most dangerous, nation in the world is not trusted by 70 % of his countrymen. Of course those polls are fake, so says the donald trump, and it’s not difficult to see why a lot of people believe him when he says that, a lot of people just need to believe in something, a lot of people who used to have a good fistful of the American Pie but now find themselves living in trailers, if they believe anything, it’s that they’ve been had, they’re faith is up for grabs. 

At this time then, when a great general sense of chaos is afoot globally, Mr. T seems a natural catalyst for a shit-storm of biblical proportions. 

In response to this quest, he has created the world’s most fascinating reality show and he wants, above all else, to keep us watching. William Shakespeare never wrote a plot half as complex as this one. We’ve got secrets and lies, palace power struggles, leaks and lawsuits and creepy guys all over the set, we’ve got nepotism and cover-ups and an entire staff who’s only job is to publicly deny the obvious. And as if that wasn't enough to flesh out a compelling story, we also have a potential nuclear war, possible impeachment, an ice-queen for a first lady and a kid named Baron. Baron. How many working class heroes have you ever heard of who’ve named their sons Baron? …perhaps a small insight into the expectations of dear old dad. 

In the meantime the show must go on, and you know, nothing sells like action…with explosions, of course, the whole world loves big flashy explosions… as long as they are in somebody else’s backyard. 

But there’s the hook, you see…it’s so easy to add an element of real danger when you’re the president…it need only be a remote one, just enough to get the fear and adrenalin flowing, don’t want to get the lefties any more stirred up. A president’s number one job is to keep the huddled masses safe…and out of his now platinum hair. 

Yes, a little Sunday morning update can leave one a tad anxious. The times they are  indeed a’changin’…and fast. 

There is no doubt that we are living in an age of massive transformation. The question is, I guess, how can we minimize the pain of it’s delivery? How do we not tear each other apart? 

I believe I have an answer… 

Watch America’s Got Talent! 

Seriously. 

You will see young people, teens and children, performing with the poise and technical ability of thirty-year-olds, kids whose understanding of what they are doing is astounding. They exhibit physical and musical skills that normally take twenty years to master. 

Their innocence and the power of their aspirations inspired me and lifted me up…and it got me thinking that if these highly gifted people exist in the field of entertainment then surely they must be present in all walks of life…in all the arts and professions and philosophies; they must be everywhere. And to me, they indicate that perhaps the human species may be able to evolve at a much faster rate than we have been…fast enough, perhaps, to keep up with the rapid changes in technology and society. These kids may be able to grasp larger ideas and win over fear by demonstrating that there really is enough to go around; enough food and enough money and, most of all, enough love and compassion. 

The antidote to fear is, and has always been, love and compassion. I am counting on this new generation to be the one that brings us to the tipping point, to the understanding of the hopelessness of violence, to the realization of it’s absolute uselessness as a tool for achieving anything beyond the most temporary cease-fire. Violence begets violence, hatred begets hatred and we humans have taken this lunatic cycle as far as it can go. We’ve placed ourselves in a position where we must evolve or perish. 

Evolution seems the prudent choice, yes? Be ye left or right, liberal or conservative, dippsey or doodley, yinny or yangy, etc. etc. We all win as long as we can keep the ball rolling. 

So I’m putting my faith in the kids. May they truly be better and smarter and kinder than us. May they seize their moment when it comes and may we, who work the levers of power in the present moment, keep them alive until then.