frequently, when I watch the "news," I find myself remembering the lessons that the Elders taught when I was a kid. And while my childhood was violent and damaging, I find myself thinking about how much worse so many children have it today. Now, I do not discount the many good things that lots of youngsters experience these days -- not everything is bleak. But, in the national sense, there are way too many bad things.

I agree that our society is an oligarchy. We are in the transformation from the industrial era that created a "middle class" post-WW2, to a high-tech feudal society. Among the "upper class," there are far too many who really do not care -- at all -- about the nation's children, much less those of other lands.

Yet, most of the time, I do not feel pessimistic. What is happening today is a consequence of what took place yesterday, and I've learned that for many people, true compassion and empathy only takes place at times of large, tragic events. This isn't good, and it sure as heck isn't "fair" -- but human nature in the context of high-tech feudalism can be distinct from human behavior in other contexts.

Still, I maintain hope. This isn't a Polly-anna-ish attempt to bury my head in the sand, a belief that a Power will come out of the sky to save us, or faith that a "leader" will solve our problems. It is because of the goodness I see in children and youth.