My Struggle With Inherent Negativity

Where to start? I've been having a really difficult time processing world events recently. With everything going on in the Middle East, I find myself getting sucked into watching CNN, and that is not good. I have so much pent up anxiety over the way things are right now. Maybe it is this history course I am finishing up. I really don't know.

It seems all that is ever reported on, is negative. Whether it is something that happened within the last 10 minutes, or 300 years ago. There exists no difference in presentation. There is just so much negativity. As I begin to internalize these thoughts, it occurs to me that I too am also guilty of spreading negative thoughts through this Blog. Often, I have nothing worth saying, unless it is something that I take such issue with that I am all fired up and motivated to extrapolate on. This hypocrisy is starting to eat at me. Yet, I find myself justifying it.

In a conversation with a fellow student, not too long ago, I said a few things that were not so flattering in regards to ... the United States. This individual really took offense to these remarks and returned fire with an observation focused on Americans general inability to "feel satisfied." She is convinced that we are all a bunch of complainers, and that were we to spend any amount of time living in a situation less optimal than our present, or a Third World country, that we would finally understand how good we have it here, today, as Americans.

I tried to explain to her that there was a difference between complaining and being desirous of social change that had the potential to improve the quality of so many peoples lives. I mentioned that this sort of idealistic wishfulness is not unlike holding a dream for the future. I reminded her that people in our history such as Martin Luther King Jr. "had a dream." They spent a great deal of time and effort pointing out what was wrong with, or broken in our culture. Do we refer to people like this now as "complainers?"

The thing is, I don't have anything to say that is going to change anyone's outlook on life. I am surprised anyone even reads this Blog to be honest. Yet I feel compelled to give these thoughts a shot at seeing the light of day. I used to think that writing about my misgivings was therapeutic, but now it is making me feel so conflicted. Is it worth it, to speak ones mind, even if it is dealing with unpleasant concepts? Or is it an exercise in kicking dead horses? I for one cannot answer this. I do know that by keeping a record of how we think and feel now, can help others in the future gain insight into our contemporary, but beyond that, /shrug.

I suppose if we were to all be brutally honest with ourselves, we would bury our egos and embrace the knowledge that we are all cliche artists scurrying along within the collective. I need to consider these concepts more before commenting further.