Hopeful, Hopeless, Bad

I have lived through some amazing times. And the most amazing thing about them - was that the people in them, never noticed this!

Perhaps they had been exposed to the shock of the new too many times - and they had gone into shock themselves. They had gone from being hopeful - to being hopeless. They had one more step to go - to being bad, or self-destructive.

I will now put these steps, for America, into a timetable:

Hopeful

This was America in the early 19th Century - home to millions of immigrants, who were making a new life for themselves. This overlooks the blacks, and the native peoples - who did not do so well.

Hopeless

This was America later in the same Century - after a Civil War, and then into the 20th Century, with WWI, the Depression, and WWII. A large Middle Class had been formed, however - who were not doing too bad.

Bad

I would date this to the Seventies - when Americans realized their situation was hopeless - and in response, became bad.