Contact: Inside the U.S.: Nita Smothers, 918-794-6464; Outside the U.S.: Sue Baker or Danielle Rotter, Lexicon Public Relations, Ltd, +44-1943-830-626, +44-7801-355-788 mobile, drotter@lexiconpr.com

LONDON, Nov. 2, 2011 /Standard Newswire/ -- America seems to be going through a cultural shift in which the nation's trust in the ability of hard-working people to get ahead is rapidly dwindling. According to Social Futurist, Commentator and Christian, Mal Fletcher (www.2020plus.net), with rabid hype and personal avarice ringing from sea to shining sea, many Americans are feeling cheated and have lost faith in the meritocracy on which the young, optimistic country was built.

In a recently published article (bit.ly/ueapDs) Mal, who will be embarking on an American speaking tour from November 5-13, argues that with the financial, social and environmental troubles presently facing the world, optimism is exactly what America and the global community needs. Mal states: "Optimism shouldn't be confused with naiveté. An optimist is a realist who chooses to colour his or her worldview with a healthy dose of idealism. It's not a case of the old glass half-full or half-empty, but more half-empty-but-will-be-full."

He argues that American optimism and the ideal of the U.S.A. as the land of opportunity is not simply beneficial to America and its meritocratic system, but to the rest of the global community. Through it, he says, many disenfranchised or oppressed people are given hope and a sense of possibility.

Mal Fletcher, an established speaker and broadcaster who heads up the London-based international think tank, 2020Plus (www.2020plus.net), believes that for many America's bleak cloud seems to have no silver lining at present.

Exorbitant bailouts have seen the pension funds and savings of hard-working Middle Americans used to produce more wealth for the wealthy. Meanwhile, politicians are not holding CEO's accountable, instead blanketing the media with personal attacks and shallow promises and strategies for the future.

Mal argues: "This is killing America's belief in its meritocracy and stifling its natural optimism."

"Even if elements of the meritocracy idea are mythical, there's no doubt that it has contributed hugely to America's sense of self-confidence and its symbolic and practical role on the global stage. It is part of what has made America so attractive to entrepreneurs in every field of endeavour, from business to scientific research and much more."

"America's inherent optimism is important to the rest of the world, not least because it has been the foundation stone of its meritocratic social system."

Mal Fletcher will be speaking to invited audiences in Los Alamitos, CA November 5-8 and St. Louis, MO November 11-13 and is available for interviews in the U.S. during that time.

For contact inside the U.S.:
Nita Smothers
Phone:918-794-6464

For contact outside the U.S.:
Sue Baker or Danielle Rotter, Lexicon Public Relations, Ltd
drotter@lexiconpr.com  
Phone: +44 1943 830 626
Mobile: +44 7801 355 788