Grim times for Graduates--where have the hopes and dreams gone?

[Liberty Belle]

Yesterday was my daughter's high school graduation.

The valedictorian spoke about how the world has changed in the 4 years these kids have been in high school -- and nothing was for the better. Here are some of the traumas she mentioned, along with a few more I've added.

My kids' high school years were scarred by the Iraq War, Hurricane Katrina, 9-11 investigations, global warming, global terrorism, destruction of our constitutional rights, soaring college tuitions and drying up of college aid, the Virginia Tech shootings (on the heels of the Santana and Granite Hills high school massacres, both in our school district), and the Cedar Fire (worst wildfire in California history, which forced temporary closure of schools in our district and left many students and teachers homeless).

No wonder teens today are so filled with cynicism. How do we offer hope to high schoolers coming of age amid so much gloom and doom?