Picked up four college girls who were out on the town and needed a ride home. From the start the talk was light and fun. Don’t recall what turned it serious. Probably me going on about my philosophy of pessimism. The discussion turned to the poor state of this country’s social and political discourse, how people just look out for themselves, what made people believe what they do, and how dark the future looks. There was general agreement that everyone needs to not be afraid to speak their mind and do it in a civil and respectful way.

Arriving at their destination I found myself apologizing for how much my  generation was screwing up the world and the challenges their generation will have. As we said good night one of the girls in the back seat leaned forward before she got out and with a calm and serious tone said, “We got this”. I can’t describe how good that made me feel.