Fighting Chance

It seems to me I need to see myself as special.  Not special as in better than someone else but special as in a sense of self-worth.
If there is one thing that seems obvious to me is the sense of hopelessness that is currently promoted.  I think it is pretty hard to see myself as worth much based on the heritage I am told I have.
I do not think I need to be Einstein though to see the mess created by mankind.  Unfortunately, some in power are ruled by self-interest only and a real mess has been made of the planet.  I do not think that is unique to some but an extension of the self-interest that impacts and a part of all of us.
I am both an optimist and a pessimist.  I reckon mankind has a bright future, but it also has an abysmal future.  Like never before there is the capability to bring mass extinction.  Some voices are raised in protest but in my opinion are incapable of changing a human heart.
It seems to me we had it good while no mad men controlled the levers.  That is not the case today.  I just need to look at ancient Rome to see that one mad leader could undo many lifetimes of good.
But having said that I can see another group of people rising up who may lose the battle but will not lose the war.  I really do not feel anyone need be a seer to see that things are going from bad to worse.  This planet is so interrelated that the butterfly effect is more evident than ever.  The war in the Ukraine has impacted us thousands of kilometers away.
For me the future is not a matter of hoping against hope but hoping in the author of hope.  There is plenty of water to go under the bridge but fortunately a solid bridge will withstand a torrent.