I’ve long admired a poem by Wordsworth. The first line is “The world is too much with us.” Access to information is at our fingertips and sometimes feels excessively so. It’s addicting and annoying to read facts and opinions that conflict with my understanding of things. The election is more than six months away and polls and predictions are all over the place. Nothing is certain except difficulties. Campuses are erupting with protests. Unrest and riots are coming long before voting begins, and are likely to expand.

If the weather in the months ahead is as hot and stormy as some forecasts suggest, people will be angry and rebellious as they swelter in the heat and suffer the storms of a miserable summer. Of course I can see problems ahead, but I have no clue what can be done about them. The economy is doing well, and yet there are people whose well-being is threatened by forces unnamed and untamed. Too many people in this country are homeless, jobless, hungry and discouraged. That should never happen.

I see points of light in the people trying to make a difference in people’s lives and circumstances. Charities, food shelves, job opportunities are available to those who seek them. Having been a teacher I know that things are working for young people who make an effort. Schools provide activities and learning opportunities that make a difference in lives. The battle seems uphill for many, but it is possible to win. I miss the classroom interaction with teens. So many magic moments make my memories positive ones. I do think that our democracy has a chance to recover. Good people are everywhere, and good outcomes are happening. The world may be too much with us, but so long as people care, everything is possible.