Accessing Our New Reality

I have been away
For quite a while
And on coming back
To this old country,
It seems so much
Has changed.
It is not the same nation
As the one I left behind.
Gone are both
The arrogant pride,
And the perpetual optimism
For which we Americans
Were often noted.
There is a new
President in office
Elected on
A platform of change,
But something
Far more fundamental
Than a simple
Change of leadership
Has occurred.
I find it difficult to gauge
Just where we are
Because the news channels
Have become
So biaest for or against
The current leadership
That basic objectivity
I once expected
From the news services
Is a thing of the past.
When I talk to people
I chance to meet,
I observe that
A pervasive sense of
Dissolusionment
Has set in,
Those who wanted change
Are not happy with
The changes they see,
And those who
Liked the way things were
Are generally appalled
By what they see,
And the two sides
Are more polarized
Than ever before.
Our confidence
In ourselves
And where the future
Is taking us
Appears to have been
Profoundly shaken.
The economic ressession
The nation and the rest
Of the world endured
Is by no means over,
And its effect is visible
Almost everywhere I look.
Many people who once thought
They were secure,
Have awakened
To a new financial reality,
And few are optimistic
That things will
Rapidly turn around,
That the future
Will somehow be better
Than it is today.
More people are in
Survival mode
Than I have ever seen before.
Optimists seem to be
Few and far between.
Where are we really,
And where are we headed?
I am still trying
To figure that out,
And I sense
That now is a time
Our nation needs
Leadership more than
Ever before,
Someone we all
Can believe in.