I have to apologize to every reader for sounding upset when I report or write about an issue. I have a condition called social angst, or so I’ve been told. I believe it. Social angst is defined as an acute but unspecific feeling of anxiety; usually reserved for philosophical anxiety about the world or about personal freedom. How could anyone not have some sort of social angst?

There are still some people who don’t say “thank you” when you hold the door open for them. There are women who think the man should pay and there are men who think they should never. We all have had a teacher who doesn’t teach. Whatever the angst may be, it is apparent by the facial expressions on the students we pass by everyday.What is to blame for this disease? Is it the quest for cash, or our searches for relationships or our faith in religion?

We are told to go to school, get a job, buy a house. Man, that could take me my whole lifetime! Meanwhile, some are getting rich quick without an education; doing pyramid scams and selling drugs. Some families are able to keep breeding the wealthy. We can’t help but to think about money and buying, because that is all that’s being advertised. Is social angst caused by the American dream for success and money? Society tells us marriage is a natural step in life. We can thank couples of the last half-century for failing the institution of marriage. With a 50/50 drop-out to pass ratio, couples are constantly disappointing each other, in the name of love and religion. Get married nowadays? Hell no! Why do I need to tell some joker in black at an altar under death personified on a cross, that I want to spend the rest of my life with a woman? Is there any justification to pronounce, “love” in that way, besides there is the everlasting potential of divorce. All these fake television relationships show us that we are in dire need of a love that cannot be shown in a movie, on T.V., or written down in words. I’m surprised that belief in love still exists.

A new television show on Fox network will show us the true obsession women have with money. Women will compete to marry a man who they think is a multi-millionaire. In reality, the bachelor is a $19,000 a-year man. The show will also highlight the shallow attempt to deceivingly lure a girl into bed by lying about how phat his wallet is. I hope he gets laid by all of them.

Does religion’s social pressure to conform create personal anxiety? Religion continues to be a catalyst for a struggle of money and power, when real starvation is only affecting the unfortunate and poor. Of course it creates anxiety! Followers are being led down a fiery path and continue to follow. I hope that in the least, they are a little nervous.

An old religion has been lying dormant for thirty years and it needs some revitalization. “Spread love” has been forgotten, while the most powerful holy faiths lead us to extinction. We practice religion ass-backwards.

Is it the prowess of the political machinery that creates your social angst? The shaping political views by the donkeys and elephants have split the nation into two. Voting is still somehow rigged and unfair, jobs are scarce, and we’re going back to war. Social angst has hooked me, and I can’t release myself from the line pulling me in. The world isn’t perfect, and I’m stumped by the fact that most think everything will be all right, if we believe and have faith.

Is there hope? This was a year of remembrance. What do you remember? If it’s something bad, then the media has done its job. It has portrayed our attitudes toward each other. It has mirrored our murders, fires, wars, and occasionally bored us with stories community hope in the form of renaming parks, and profiling charitable organizations. A year of remembrance. What should we remember?

We’ve had the opportunity to create a decent world but have made bad decisions. We can do what the books tell us and remember our history. It can continue to haunt us as we relive catastrophes, and gain new information on how to create bigger ones. Or we can have hope a for change. I choose hope. Peace.

Sukeo Tacker is quite charming in person. Email him at [email protected].