| Happy Sunday, everyone. I recently suggested that it is our obligation as humans to be optimists. Most people agreed, but many wondered how you could do such a thing with the state of the world being what it is. Isn't it better to be a "pragmatist" or a "realist"? I'd argue that optimists are the real realists. The actual pragmatists. Bear with me here. Is it pragmatic to despair? Is it useful to give up and assume the world is going to hell in a handbasket? What the hell are you going to do with that feeling?
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You talk about self fulfilling prophecies. Giving up on life because it's too hard or too ugly or too many powers are arrayed against you will absolutely manifest that world. And here's the thing: it might only happen to you. You, the person despairing about the future, will live in a sad dystopia of your own personal creation. The person who steps boldly into the future, convinced it holds great promise and fortune and adventure, will find all three. You'll live on the same planet but have very different experiences. Look at children and how they approach life: with a laugh playing upon their lips. With wonder in their eyes, with big ridiculous plans for their futures. "I'm going to be an airplane pilot and an archaeologist." "I'm going to be an artist who paints pictures of seals and sea otters." "I'm going to be a fireman who's also a Navy SEAL." Are these "realistic"? Maybe, maybe not. But they are necessary. Imagine if kids didn't have wild outlandish goals and dreams about their future. Imagine if kids expected the world they were inhabiting to be a dreary, soul-crushing one. What do you think would happen? What kind of world would they indeed inhabit? What would they build? The pessimist believes in nothing at all, especially not him or herself. And the saddest thing is that the pessimist is right. Are you an optimist or a pessimist? Answer carefully... Leave your thoughts in Friday's New and Noteworthy. | 
