Toughest Ever? A slightly political vent that won't offend my Democrat friends.

I keep hearing people say that the current situation in our country is the toughest we have ever faced. I heard our President say something similar to this about our economy. On the SAG awards, Sally Fields said our country needs entertainers more than ever. I've heard it on the radio and seen it in the headlines. The worst ever? Really?

Maybe no one remembers September 11th and the fear we felt while we were waiting for the next terrorist attack.

Certainly no one remembers the previous wars we have fought in and how many soldiers we lost to those causes. I've been doing tons of research on WWII for one of my novels, and my generation is totally oblivious about hardship and loss during wartime.

Clearly the Great Depression was a figment of history writers' imaginations if this is the toughest economic challenge this country has ever faced.

I know that things are looking tough for a lot of people. I know a few who have lost jobs and are having difficulty finding new jobs. Jason and I are down to one car and don't see an opportunity to get a second anytime soon. It's a little thing, but it's a pain. He's losing hours, so we're losing income while prices for everything are rising. But the worst ever? The toughest ever? Nowhere near it. We shouldn't be using phrases like that at all.

If the government collapses because it can't pay the bailouts it's promising, then we can start saying stuff like this. If we have terrorist attacks in our streets and our neighborhoods start looking like Gaza, then we can say stuff like this.

Let's have some hope, people! Stop talking in crisis mode when it really doesn't apply! Things aren't that bad. And I refuse to believe they will get that bad. There are too many good people in our country who are doing their best, working hard, and serving each other. Things aren't bad enough to qualify for the "worst ever" category. So let's use positive words! Like Yes We Can!