I'm afraid and hopeful for this country and the world in general

I'm alternately afraid and hopeful for the United States and the world in general. What worries me is when people on two or more sides of a conflict stop listening to each other and stop trying to understand each other. One of many hopeful signs is the 10,000 kites campaign has organized a mass kite-flying event for peace for May 20 (see http://www.talkingkites.org.il or http://10000kites.org/ for more info). It's on both sides of the 500-kilometer long barrier that separates Israelis and Palestinians who cannot see each other, but can see each other's kites flying high above the barrier. hopeful sign is that I got my dad to watch a documentary (see http://endofsuburbia.com) about the industrialized world's petroleum dependency and how we seem to be headed toward a point where global oil supply peaks and we are slow to recognize the problem and prone to deny it.