If I may, let me redirect the discussion away from my pal MG and back to the original issues:

In the insane public world of politics, wars and rumors of wars, etc., things *are* mightily depressing -- I agree. But any one of us can find reasons to live, and even to smile, in the more private areas of our existences.

Actually, I think conditions *never* get much better or much worse: "The more things change, the more they stay the same." The 60s were both better (more hopeful and energetic) and worse (more scarred by hatred, riots, etc.) than today. Just as we humans manage to solve the most pressing problems of a given era, like the cold war and threat of mutual nuclear destruction, new problems we could never have foreseen always seem to pop up to take their place.

I believe that the basic principle of evolution, survival of the species, more or less guarantees that we always find a way to fend off the greatest possible disasters (until the next new and unpredicted crisis, of course).

As far as the US is concerned, it may be true that a half-century of unprecedented prosperity is coming to a permanent end -- who knows? When I was a kid, the average income of *one* semi-skilled minimally-educated adult was enough to support a family, including ownership of a home and a car. Now it takes two incomes, and things are dicier than ever before.

Since two of my grandparents were born and raised in Ireland, I'm eligible for citizenship there, and often pipe-dream about packing up and moving -- perhaps for retirement. (You don't have to give up US citizenship; dual citizenship is an option, and you can get your Social Security checks anywhere.) Problem is, Ireland has become more like America than ever before -- indeed, it's just about as expensive to live there as here, much unlike a few years ago. On the other hand, it's probably more comfortable and familiar for an American expatriate now than ever before, too.

Oh yeah, for what it's worth -- I'm about to turn 57, next month.