As we enter the Halloween weekend, in the heart of the Autumn season, we could focus our energies in one of two directions today.
We could choose to be terrified, blindly focused on the abuses - and near death attacks - that some Occupy movement protesters have faced across the country. We could be focused on the fact that Senate Republicans are fighting to keep American troops IN Iraq, instead of getting us out - or that our own media industry is cannibalizing itself again, as multiple radio companies fire more and more employees. We could even be worried about what President Obama will actually decide about the Keystone pipeline very soon.
There are a hundred different reasons for each of us to allow our own personal terrors to take over, to look at our somewhat dysfunctional government and throw up our hands in anger and frustration. Guns in state capitol buildings, crippling student loans, and the insane super committee are just a handful of those reasons.
Keeping all that in mind, the fact is, it's Friday! The weather is nice (at least in Lincoln) and the trees outside of Paul's studios are an incredible shade of red. Trees near our DC offices are a gorgeous array of autumn colors - and yes, it'll be 85 degrees and party sunny down at our Florida offices.
This is the other direction we can focus our energies, being positive. And the fact is, even if we leave aside the autumn weather and fall foliage, life IS getting better for most Americans.
Jobless claims this week went down, showing limited but favorable improvement. The U.S. GDP rose a to a surprisingly positive 2.5%, showing modest growth, despite the efforts of many Republicans to keep our economy down.
The President this week has said he was no longer going to wait for our dysfunctional Congress to do anything. So Mr. Obama took executive actions to help homeowners, help Americans buried in student loan debt, and help some of our veterans to get and keep employment when they come home.
Our editor Amy and her family will be thoroughly enjoying Halloween with their young daughter Charlotte this weekend. And we'll all be enjoying the fact that we can watch the Husker game against Michigan State on ESPN.
If we each choose to be positive - not pollyanna-ish, but realistically positive - we'd be willing to bet that you, like most of us, have more positive lights in your life than negative ones.
Of course, as it is Halloween weekend, we'd still recommend if you go out, that you carry a silver bullet, a crucifix, and some holy water, just in case.
Better safe than sorry, right?
