Finally, One Thing Most Americans Agree On

In these divisive times, it is virtually impossible to find public agreement on any topic.  However, it turns out an overwhelming majority of Americans concur on one issue.  Fully 76 percent of citizens have no confidence the next generation will have a better future.

Those are the findings of a recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of Americans from every walk of life.  The depth of despair shocked many in the news media, who have tried to paint a picture of American optimism about everything from the economy to health care reform.

The results showed only 21 percent of Americans thought the future would be better.  That is the worst ever recorded in the annual poll. Americans have never been this pessimistic.  The responses were similar among men, women, Republicans, Democrats, rich, poor, white and Hispanic.

And that isn't the only research to shed light on the national funk. Last month a public opinion poll by The Economist found that 63 percent of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track. Most respondents agreed their government doesn't serve the country's interests any more.

This national gloominess should shock no one paying attention to what is happening in America and abroad.  Americans share low opinions of Congress, the president, the Supreme Court, NSA and IRS.  They are shaken by terrorist threats worldwide. They are discouraged about the economy.

But that hasn't stopped the media cheerleading.  In a recent op-ed column, New York Times writer David Brooks crowed that Americans are living in a "golden age," where there "daily lives are immeasurably better."  His view of the country is hopelessly skewed by his penthouse perch.

Americans have experienced feeble wage growth since 2009.  Many have been forced into part-time jobs.  Millions have become despondent and abandoned their search for work.  Perhaps, Mr. Brooks has not scrutinized Labor Department figures because he is too busy sipping lattes at Starbucks.

But economic despair does not by itself explain the national depression.  After all, the country has undergone recessions, depressions, runaway inflation and other economic maladies in the past.  Yet Americans as a rule cling to their optimism.  It's part of the American DNA.

However, the absence of inspirational leadership, especially in Washington, is responsible for much of the despondency.  Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner are about as uplifting as a kidney stone.  President Obama spends more time golfing than governing.

That's significant because Americans usually look to their leaders for the promise of a better tomorrow. Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt, John Kennedy and Ronald Reagan rallied Americans in the darkest of times. Where do Americans turn today for their daily dose of encouragement?

Elections, like the upcoming mid-terms, used to renew optimism for positive change.  But today politicians sling mud and fill the airwaves with nasty attack ads.  More people are turned off every election by the sleazy process, resulting in a shrinking turn out of voters at the polls.

So how do Americans shake their current malaise?  The answer is to quit looking to the Belt Way and politicians for motivation.  Stop thinking that for every problem there is a government solution.  Put your faith in yourself and your neighbor and not in some out-of-touch bureaucrat.

America works best when Americans rely on themselves.  They start their own businesses, build their own futures, dream big and act confidently.  If Americans start behaving like Americans, then the future will appear as bright as the shiniest star in the evening sky.

National unity is within our grasp.  But only if Americans stop defining their future and their country by political parties and the morass they see in Washington.  This still is the greatest country on God's green Earth.  Opportunity still knocks on every door.  Time to answer the door America.