There’s an old curse: “May you live in interesting times.” Oh, how we are living through interesting times. So much for peace and quiet and … predictability.  Tuesday, we woke up to hear that our strong ally, South Korea, had just gone into martial law. Apparently, there’s huge turmoil over massive political corruption and the corrupted don’t want to face consequences.  And, just like that in a quick instant, the world has changed, overnight. Who knows where this one leads.  And the same in Syria. Again, seemingly overnight, Russian and Iranian-backed armies are on their back foot and Bashar al-Assad’s grip on power might soon evaporate, triggering who knows what in the Middle East – not that there already weren’t major wars and shifts blowing the region apart.   And this has consequences for Ukraine as there’s only so much evil Russia can evoke at any given time and with hyperinflation and 1,000 days of war in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin may be getting spread too thin and who knows what blows out next in all this mess.  All while we enjoyed our peaceful Thanksgiving and Black Friday and Cyber Mondays …  We’re worrying about scoring that new 75-inch TV, while half the world is holding on for dear life.  “Weird” was a word that came up in our recent presidential election. Life in the USA is weird. Surreal, sometimes.  Quite by accident, when our predecessors colonized and ripped off the land that would become the Manifest Destiny, coast-to-coast America we know, we ended up oceans away from those who would become our enemies and competitors.  We’re surrounded not by threats, but by laid-back Canada on top and floundering Mexico on the bottom and our largest threat is trying to keep the millions of people who want to get in, out.  These are problems most nations would kill for. And do.  We live in interesting times. Frightening times. Most Americans are working hard, trying to do the right thing, but it still seems an awful lot like we’re on a hamster wheel with weapons drawn – as we work and work and still feel insecure and vulnerable.  Will Social Security survive for our retirement? There’s so much talk with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and cutting “government waste” that Social Security and Medicare may indeed be vulnerable.  And rightly so. We’re living 10 years longer than when these plans were devised, and we failed procreate enough kids to follow us, helping pay the tab.  For those on the economic margins, the threat of cutbacks here is indeed disturbing, if not terrifying.  Uncertainty surrounds all of us, regardless of our race, age, gender. Where is there calm or comfort or hope?  I truly appreciated the thoughtful letter to the editor in Tuesday’s Signal written by Christopher Lucero, titled, “Our Potential to Thrive.” If you haven’t read it, read it. You can easily find it online in the Signal’s opinion section.  Lucero tells his story, common to many of us, of how he built his successful and rewarding life, both as a youth in college and later here in the Santa Clarita Valley. He recounts decades of constant hard work and focus to first educate himself, working hand-to-mouth, to buying a home during our hyper-inflation period in the 1980s, to finally gaining security, peace of mind, and satisfaction with his life well lived.  Lucero himself lived through very interesting times. The fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. High inflation and high taxation. Real estate booms so crazy there were lotteries and lines just for the right be considered to buy a new home.  If you’ve lived around these parts, you know his story personally.  Me too. Most of the folks on my street, in my neighborhood, too. You too, most likely.  Maybe the “interesting times” never stop. Not anymore. Not with instant 24/7 news and internet junk in your face constantly. Where’s the sense of security and hope for our future?  Lucero is right: Set your goals high. Set your budgets and standards to your means and keep your head down and work. Never lose sight of what you want in life. But know that for 99% of us, success isn’t easy.  For 99% of us, silver spoons weren’t handed out at our births.  We got here like Lucero, keeping our feet on the ground, our hands busy working, and our heads getting educated.  There’s a lot of talk about the fears and uncertainties our rising generation faces. Indeed, there’s no reliable road map for times like this where everything is in flux, from artificial intelligence-driven robots to self-driving cars to wars breaking out everywhere.  Who knows where our future is headed?  Still, Lucero remains right and has the best advice we can hand down to rising generations: The best certainty we’ve got is to continually invest in our own education, our own progress, keeping our eyes on our goals — and never give up. The world will keep spinning, and we’ve got to mind our own lives, regardless of the next surprise headline.  That’s the best we can do. And if we’re doing our best, that’s the best chance for where our personal security and peace of mind will be found.  Our times may be interesting, but still in America, our future (mostly) remains in our individual hands.  Gary Horton’s “Full Speed to Port!” has appeared in The Signal since 2006. The opinions expressed in his column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Signal or its editorial board. The post Gary Horton | Interesting Times Require Hard, Dedicated Work appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.