The bare trees make a silhouette on the horizon in the winter morning light, beautiful to behold in the cold, clear, crisp air. Not much traffic on a Saturday morning, a far cry from the crowded traffic on roadways on weekday commutes for most workers.

The radio news is relatively quiet, except for analysis of the still-ongoing political issues and talk about the big games scheduled for the weekend.

Now there is a really dumb idea! In this age of "latch-key" children in which the parenting of small children is often left to the hired help, the concept of shifting the burden of child care to others is very popular.

I was reading the comics today (not as much fun as it was when I was a kid, to be sure, but still a pleasant diversion in the morning) and one of the comic strips caught my eye.

"What's the use? Life is futile, nothing will turn out right." This really is a dumb and very sad idea. Many people have this approach to life and are overcome with a feeling of hopelessness and futility. And, this is not a new phenomenon.

This dumb idea was a very popular campaign slogan a few years ago, and it is a commonly held belief today. In our consumer-based economic system, which runs on credit or borrowed money, the general state of the economy is important for the well-being of its citizens.

But, when this is the case, the emphasis is all wrong and our collective sense of values goes awry, resulting in spiraling personal debt and a materialistic, short-term mentality. Look around you and see if this does not describe the current situation in much of the developed world today.