MISSOURI WATCH: IF NOT HERE, THEN WHERE?

Recently I asked a group of college students, numbering slightly more than a hundred, to select the state in which they would choose to spend the remainder of their lives. While I expected the usual dissatisfaction encountered so often among the younger generation, I was pleasantly surprised that nearly 85 percent chose their native state of Missouri. Even those who expressed a desire to leave the state as quickly as possible were hard-pressed to name one they preferred, and only a small handful had a ready site in mind.

I asked the question because the topic at hand was the alleged problem of outmigration in certain areas of Missouri, where in some instances county populations are diminishing to numbers more frequently associated with small towns. One obviously bright collegian who seemed to sense where our discussion was leading raised his hand and asked: "Could it be possible that one of the leading factors of this presumed problem is that Missouri has too many counties, and that a census loss would-not be a problem at all if there were fewer counties with higher tax bases?"

Bingo! The student wiped out 10 minutes of my lecture time, but he had been able to recognize a contributing factor in what is often viewed by more seasoned citizens as an overriding dilemma in the state. Oh, that we had a few more citizens, both young and old who might be able to cut through the chase of today's miseries and see the forest and the trees. I think we'd all be a happier lot if we only could accomplish this, even if only for brief moments.

The press insists on labeling this an era in which there is widespread dissatisfaction with America by Americans, and while there is an occasionally disturbing confirmation of this, I happen to believe we like our country, with all of its faults, much more than is reported, reliably or unreliably.

Consider a fairly recent poll by Readers Digest which asked: "Earlier in American history, many people thought the U.S. was the very best place in the world to live. Do you still think it is, or not?" You might never guess it, but nearly 80 percent of the respondents still thought it was the best place in the world to live. That's almost as reassuring as the 85 percent student affirmation for life in Missouri.

Before you think I have abdicated my role as a optimistic pessimist, let me state that none of this changes the negatives that abound in both America and Missouri. Some problems are too serious and shouldn't be glossed over merely for the sake of making an editorial point.

America has a serious crime problem, and despite the fact that many of us will never be victims, too many of our fellow citizens are suffering needlessly from the acts of criminals. The nation's ranking as the leading consumer of illegal drugs, relating in part to the first problem, requires a lot of work and different strategies than the ones being followed today. The increasing number of young families unable to provide financial security for themselves is also disturbing and should raise red flags higher than have been hoisted to date. America has a racial problem that influences all of the ones listed above, and we won't achieve a perfect society, if one is indeed achievable, until we resolve this issue as well.

When Americans' discontent is reported, however, or proclaimed by political figures wishing to make a partisan point, the discontent is too often overstated. Sure, Americans are unhappy about increasing crime, illegal drugs, economic insecurity and racial disparities, but as serious as they appear to be, they are not problems being swept aside because of general apathy, nor are they necessarily problems that have no solutions and thus destined to become a permanent component of Americana.

It is well for all of us to remind ourselves from time to time that some items that create our national malaise are exaggerated for reasons not readily apparent, sort of like the problem of Missouri's declining rural population. In the great world of politics, leaders or would-be leaders derive their power from their ability to fan rage based on the policies and beliefs of their opponents. When was the last time you heard a Democrat say that a Republican opponent had the right idea, without adding that he had a better one to a problem he considered far more critical to voters? If the Democrat wants to gain the attention of voters, he had better paint the blackest picture possible of the problem facing the public---and promise that he offered the only reasonable solutions.

Voters don't often elect candidates because they are lovable but because the candidate promises to protect the status quo of the average voter who, and I refer once again to the Readers Digest, believes with all his heart that this is the best country in the world. The discontent is more often than not with the policy-makers, not the policies themselves.

Unfortunately, today's media exploits the differences in our society and conveniently or lazily overlooks the vast areas of common agreement. This constant state of over-reporting on the one hand, and the seemingly deliberate effort to discredit the positive on the other hand, contribute to a sense of disunity that is not reflective of society as a whole. And if the media cannot find the villains required for their particular scenario, villains will be invented.

When was the last time you heard note of optimism in a political campaign? When did you read or hear a report that noted what was right in society, rather than what is wrong? And, per chance you noted an upbeat article, did you read it?

The result of this negativism is a conclusion that is at odds with the America experienced by most Americans. We must recognize that rhetorical excesses, whether stated or printed, poison our society and erode our national self-confidence. Americans are wise enough to know that all the doomsday material they are handed by politicians, the media and by special interests are means to an end and must never become a self-fulfilling prophecy of the nation the vast majority of us love and admire.

~Jack Stapleton of Kennett is the editor of the Missouri News and Editorial Service.