Our Future Is Not Golden

In 1850, it was gold that attracted the adventurous, the bold, and the deceitful to California. This sign is displayed at the Empire Mine California State Park in Grass Valley.

These were men who toiled with pick and shovel to wrench the coveted metal from the ground. They were a hardy lot unafraid of hard work. Physically demanding activity creates a mental toughness, which is an important trait. That trait is increasingly lost to today’s soft generation of television, video game and junk food addicts. Certainly there is a segment of America that is still fit both mentally and physically. But, they are becoming a minority. I fear that the progressive degeneration in the hardiness of the American public is a harbinger to a great decline in our culture.