Wallace G. Smith

It has come to my attention this week—September 21, specifically—is the 34th annual International Day of Peace, declared by the United Nations: a time to focus on "peacebuilding" and putting an end to war and conflict. A noble idea, to be sure. But in its celebration, will the essential ingredients to peace be discussed anywhere, by anyone?

A recent Best of the Web Today feature on the Wall Street Journal's website (8/3/2009) had a great section titled "Cynicism: The New Trust" that I found fascinating.  It discussed the fact that some actually seem to want hypocrisy in their leadership, in particular at this time, in the American Presidency.

As my wife and I walked into the local cinema, before us stood one of the largest movie advertisement displays I've ever seen.  It depicted a coastal city being completely ripped apart by unprecedented seismic activity—tossing vast swaths of the city into the sky and dumping entire neighborhoods into a hungry ocean.  It was a scene of utter devastation that clearly would have taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.  And it was a fitting advertisement for the movie 2012, the new End-Of-The-World epic written and directed by Roland Emmerich, coming out this November.

The world is beginning to wise up and to realize that the future is not as predictable as some had portrayed it to be – particularly in the area of finances and national economies. When will things turn around?  When will investors regain confidence?  When will the firings, layoffs, and downsizing stop?  Or more personally, when will my family begin to feel like we don't have to worry anymore about our future?

The answer from the experts is beginning to be a clear, definite, unequivocal, "We have no idea."

While the syndicated "Dear Abby" advice column in many newspapers across the U.S. has been celebrated for decades for its wit and "common sense," in the column I read the other day it was clear that "Abby" had struck out. The individual writing to "Abby" was a 16-year-old, struggling with seemingly overwhelming homosexual feelings.  Struggling to deal with those feelings and failing to change them, the teen asks "Abby" for advice on how to "come out" and make his or her homosexuality public, expressing concern about how family and friends will react. "Abby's" advice?  Abysmal.  Let's take a look.