...at my pessimistic worst.

I think I have no way to influence the outcome of world events. No way to change history in any significant way. But come to think of it, somebody insignificant occasionally pops up in history and maybe changes the course of a nation. Take Lee Harvey Oswald. The guy that shot John F. Kennedy. I think that event changed the course of America. Kennedy's death took the spirit out of so many liberals. Had it not happened, Kennedy most likely would have won a second term. Lyndon Johnson would never have become president. I think liberal ideas would have thrived. Instead, a pessimism overtook America. Allowing conservatism to snatch the day. And the nation became even more disillusioned with the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King. Liberals retreated to their cocoons. And conservatives filled up the political void. To the detriment of America. Now, I'm sensing a comeback of liberalism. With Barack Obama. But still, I'm not sure it's gonna happen. There'll be another disaster along the way. That's me...at my pessimistic worst. --Jim Broede