The fantasy of “if…”

A group of semi-like-minded conservatives got together recently and discussed several negative trends that, if they continue, would bring our nation down.

We lamented over…

• The decline in the basis for morality and rule of law
• Growing dependence of larger segments of our population on government
• Growing dependence on increasing and unlimited debt
• The delusional expectation that we can have a sound economy by our shift from being a producing nation to a consuming nation
• The refusal to slow down the rate of illegal immigration
• Institutionalized ignorance concerning Islamic sedition

I played the role of the pessimist, doubting the likelihood of any of these trends being reversed.  I asked the question:  “How likely is it that any of these trends will be reversed within the next several years?”

There was one among us who demonstrated he was convinced that each of these trends will be turned around.  He explained “if  X is elected president” and “if Y number of federal departments were eliminated” and “if Z tax rates were reduced” and  if a few other “ifs” came true, then all of these nation-destroying trends would evolve into peaches and cream.

Most of us agreed that if these “ifs” occurred, most of these negative trends might be reversed.  But there was also a concensus that the chances of even some of the “ifs” coming to the rescue was quite slim.

The crux of my pessimism is that the likelihood of a bunch of these essential “ifs” miraculously raining down is a pretty long bet – the fantasy of “if” – on the order of “if only I would win the $10 million lottery.”