It's an established fact that most people in the United States think they can predict the future.
Look at the results of the last election. Approximately half the people in the country are delighted that the future looks bright. The other half are not just disappointed; they are depressed and frightened.
Why do we act this way? It's because we are absolutely convinced that we can predict the future. Any doubt that may linger in our minds is wiped away by the dire or uplifting predictions, the enthusiasm or glum behavior of our chosen news outlets. One side sees the country as saved, while the other sees the country is doomed. One party sees a savior in the White House; the other sees a fascist, a dictator worse than Hitler. (Had the election gone the other way, one side would see a savior in the White House and the other a communist, a dictator worse than Stalin.)
And whose fault are these misconceptions and exaggerations? It's the fault of the very political parties we support and the news media we follow. The messages have been reinforced daily for the last six months, over and over. And it continues. Fear sells, and we have been set up, manipulated by the news media and by social media to the point that we really believe the predictions. We are sure the we can see into the future.
Face it. If you could predict the future, you would be fabulously wealthy, living on your own private island away from all this chaos. The fact that you are not means that you are, to one degree or another, WRONG. So why do you continue to kid yourself? What's in it for you - except a chance to ride the biennial emotional roller coaster with a ticket price of your own mental stability.
