What in the World?

I've been reading about the Kennedy years and being amazed by the fact that as a high school student I knew absolutely nothing about what was going on in the world, and it didn't make any difference at all. I loved President Kennedy and will never forget the shock of learning about his assassination November 22, 1963. As an adolescent I was interested in anything other than what was going on in the world. I was interested in school, art, music, books and my boyfriend and that's about it. I mean school was what my life consisted of, mostly, just like my life consists mostly of my work now plus art, music and books as I have time for them. I don't have a lot of time to be interested in what is going on in the world. I had a lot less time to be interested in what was going on in the world when I was younger. Now, I am more interested in what has already taken place in the world than what is taking place now. Maybe it's my age, maybe it's realizing I can't do much about anything that's going on in the world, or maybe the whole world is just getting dumber. I am sure all three of those reasons are part of the problem. It's my age. I have always been aware that the world is against aging. That's nothing new. People have always yearned for the Fountain of Youth that does not exist. You can dye your white hair black, and get cosmetic surgery but you’re still not getting any younger. There are ways to be healthier longer, but aging happens if you live long enough. As my aging dad once remarked, "Age gets involved," and it does. We don't like to admit it, but it does. We get tired easier, we develop aches and pains in different places, I could give you lots of examples, but I don't want to focus on that either. I will say I don't jump anymore. I just kind of gave up jumping. It was not a huge dilemma, but a significant one. Remembering how to do the Bunny Hop today tested that assertion. It's hard to explain, so I won't try. I'm just going to leave it right there. I can get up off the floor without using my hands. That's supposed to be a good sign that you're on the way to longevity and vigor. So, there's that. But yes, I suppose I will have to say I may not be as sharp intellectually as I was when I was younger, but that is something that cannot be verified either, because this could all be chalked up to changes in brain function and development, not necessarily a sign of deterioration. Do I feel I can do little about what's going on in the world? Absolutely. I can pray, I can hope, I can vote, sometimes I can write something for the community faith and family publication that has about 10,000 readers but am I changing the world? Probably not much. Is the world dumber now than it was 100 years ago? I think so. Based on what was written back then, what and how living history was reported in the news, yes, today, mass communication has deteriorated greatly, in general. The way people speak and write has drastically declined. Read text, correspondence, poetry and songs of yesteryear, and you can easily see how language has become less articulate, less expressive, less accurate and much more politically biased. So, what's the conclusion of this dilemma? As a line in an old folk song always reminds me, "Prepare for eternity." I always say, "Everybody gets old if they don't die young." Life goes by quickly and for the believer there is one life to live, that is a life looking for the one who prepares us to live forever, the God of the Bible, still the number one bestseller worldwide. I can't improve on that.