The fact is, there have always been some at the top and others at the bottom. Sometimes the world seems to be modeled as Charles' Dicken's novel. Once you realize that quite a few people have more in common with Bob Cratchet than Scrooge, it's easy to get depressed. Along with the depression that sometimes comes with truth, there is frequently an even greater danger to any would-be activist. You become a bore. People are emotional beings after all. So it's the rare person who will choose to be with the "Debbie Downer" types during their leisure time.
The problem of unintentionally alienating people with one's own feelings is a very old problem. Fortunately, our libraries are filled with books full of solutions. One of them is Dale Carnegie's book on "How to win friends and influence people". I highly recommend the book. The techniques it describes offer hope that we all have some control of our fate by what we say and how we present ourselves. Such skills will be critical in making life worth living no matter what challenges the economy or environment throw at us. We can't always be happy all the time. However, the occasional little kindness of remaining silent on depressing topics sometimes is the greater service. After all, there is a time and place for everything.
