Perceptions

There is a lot going on around us. Each of us. News. Culture. Personal life. Work. School. Thinking about the future, the present, and what it all means. Lots of stuff to think about. And then we turn on the news.

What do we hear and see? Catastrophe or the fear of one coming soon to a neighborhood near you!

Along with that are stories on events and responses to those events. What do people think about those events and the responses to them? Is this held in a positive light or a negative one? Is shade being thrown on the players involved in this event? Is blame being assigned or hinted at?

These and similar happenings are chronicled, continuously. The instant world has engulfed us. We cannot escape the constant barrage of messages about what is happening or possibly about to happen.

From all of this we form impressions. Are we feeling positive about these things? Are we building a negative sense of our environment? Are we hopeful or fearful? Are we in control or not? Do we have confidence that people in the know will handle these problems well and allay our fears? Do we have confidence in them?

Do we have confidence in our government and other public institutions?

BOING! That is the question that continually pops into my mind about our modern world. Do we believe good will prevail over evil? Will the good beat back the bad? Do I have anything to worry about?

Erosion. The wearing away of our group confidence in the people and institutions we have trusted in the past. Are they still trustworthy? We know glitches occur in technical systems and products. We even realize that policy and procedure does not always work in all situations as intended. We know there are problems. We know that life is not perfect, but deep down, don’t we really believe that our institutions will do good by us?

In the past I thought this was true. Today I am not so sure. It seems little is working as it ought. At least the news media throw doubt on most everything. Maybe we are living in an age of complete delusion and distrust?

If you begin thinking this way, how much of it is true and how much not? Besides all of that, what must others think who are not one of us? Foreigners – both friend and foe – do they perceive us to be strong, weak, or failing? Might they see us as weak and vulnerable? How might they manipulate that against us?

Perhaps we should focus on more positive things; do not ignore the problems and reality, but address repairing those problems or finding ways to avoid them entirely. What capabilities do we have to build better and stronger? What skillsets do we have available for the tasks? What resources must we have, and do we have enough of them to do the job?

In the past we have tackled the difficult and even the impossible. We have made terrific things happen. We could do it then. We can do it now.

Why are we so down on ourselves? Is the picture accurate or distorted? Whatever it is, are we motivated to do something about it?

America is a nation of can. Have we lost that to can’t?

October 11, 2021