I have a love/hate relationship with the news. I have gone through rabid phases of consuming news, especially around politics as well as long droughts of news-less life. And I have to say the news-less life is far more pleasant. Significant news still gets to me, but my nerves remained untroubled by the daily portrait of murder, war, and fear-mongering. Besides, I have a strong and growing distrust of major media.

All that aside, I am reading the news again. One might say with the house for sale that I have good reason to pay attention to shifts in the economy that might impact my sale. And there is that. One can also say that since I don’t provide a vital service that covers the bottom of the maslow for folks, that if a depression hits, my work is likely to be impacted. Another could point out that as a change agent for social justice, shifts in economic possibility directly relate to changes that can be possible.

There are clearly many motivations which draw me to take a look at the news, specifically around the economy. What will a recession or even a depression mean? Why do we live in a world where there is only this work toward growth–infinite growth? Do people see that our financial systems are a construct, and that construct destroys us, our communities, and our potential in the future? What will the consequences of an economic downturn be? Will that reduce our consumerism more than green values do? Will we learn to recycle and reuse the way our predecessors did in the depression? And we all know that who really suffers in down cycles are the poor and lower middle class. Will the people in the bottom half of our economic spectrum recognize that republicans are making the government bigger and work against public interest–and consequently revolt?

I highly doubt we have ever, in all the history of the US, had a worse president and oval office than we have now. And while some may wait on the edge of their seats for the next president to come in…I think the destruction is not yet over. And so the pendulum swings wide and high…and I can only hope that the worse it gets now will mean the better it will be able to be later. I am usually one to see many sides of a situation, but this economic crisis feels like one more solid reason to hold conviction about how destructive our current leaders are.

I used to scoff at conspiracy theorists. Now I think there is no evil to which King George et co would not sink to, no life they would not sacrifice, no principle of our founding tenets they hold dear, and no care for anyone outside themselves. And the whole of our government is complicit in their terrorist, imperial, and tyrannical deeds as long as impeachment is not in process. MMMM, what would impeachment do for the economy?

On the fly…so I am not going to provide stats and stuff.

However, I just want to speak from a 30,000 foot up perspective about something positive. When I get frustrated about all the struggling I see and challenges I feel we face as a collective, I turn to what we have to feel hopeful about.

And one of those things is the massive convergence of multiple generations of folks all moving toward making the world better. Whether that is aging Baby Boomers who want to return to their values from the days of the world-changing 60s or young folks so acutely aware of issues without being burdened by years of bitterness…or folks in the middle learning that a life of meaning is more than money and requires us to give and volunteer toward a better world. No matter the generation (or the motivation), I am hopeful that we will see a convergence of generations all cooperating with their different capacities and knowledge to co-create a better world for all of us.

Add to this the tremendous opportunity of the rollover of wealth. Plus the rising emergence of open values and collective intelligence…and I think there is reason to hope. There is a huge shift we must make to become a world capable of supporting human thriving…but it is possible. And the will power is gathering momentum.