Why I am Optimistic About Our Nation’s Future

by Natalie Marshall - SALT
     Why am I optimistic about our nation’s future? Honestly, it seems like a peculiar question when headlines inform us of the government shutdown, an ever-rising debt ceiling, and the potential of greater government infiltration into our daily lives. How would a young person grasp a vision for his future? However, every age faces crisis that may prove to define it. But this is the United States–the greatest human experiment the world has ever witnessed. What the United states has always had in its back pocket is optimism-hope for a brighter future. Just as John Adams said to his wife Abigail, “ I am well aware of the toil and blood and treasure that it will cost us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the gloom I can see rays of ravishing light and glory. I can see that the end is worth more than all the means.” I remain optimistic because our nation has an entrepreneurship mentality, because this land is the land of the resilient.
     Our nation has a deep entrepreneurship capacity with people willing to take every risk possible to improve life. Once upon a time, there was a little boy who spent his summers mowing lawns because he never had those things that money could buy. With every hard-earned quarter he received, he skateboarded to the gas station to purchase another gallon of gas, a coke, and his favorite candy bar. As the years passed, because of his family struggles, his only option was to work every job imaginable, from fry cook to janitor to apartment manager in order to economically provide for his future. Despite his blemished circumstances, he found a way to put himself not only through undergraduate college, but to receive a doctorate degree and is now a highly esteemed dentist in our community, making an impact and imprint. This man is my father. He is now providing me opportunities that he never had. This country is filled with people like my dad. People who press on through the trials of life and make the next generation better than what they had.
      The United States of America remains the freest society in history. If we disagree with our leaders, we have the power and the freedom to change who represents us. The current crises that our nation encounters are not inherently more devastating than those faced by our predecessors, which include the Civil War, the Great Depression, and the World Wars. Because of the our resilient generational genes and the magnitude of talent due to our freedom to be who we were created to be, I am indubitably optimistic that our nation will continue to advance up the ladder, taking one step at a time. America! America! God shed His grace on thee, and crown thy good with brotherhood, from sea to shining sea.

Author: Generation Joshua club, S.A.L.T.

The Vision of Generation Joshua is to assist parents to raise up the next generation of Christian leaders and citizens, equipped to positively influence the political processes of today and tomorrow. Our goal is to provide training opportunities for teens that challenge them to stand up for what is right, to grow in their own beliefs, and to learn about how they can make a difference in their communities and nation.

One thought on “Why I am Optimistic About Our Nation’s Future”

  1. Thank you Natalie, for sharing your inspirational story. You and your peers are a shining example of what is possible with Faith and hard work.
    Thank you for your words.

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