pessimism, a love story

So the sky will fall, our dollar will collapse, inflation will spiral out of control while Britney
Spears becomes minister of the car police (or
whatever Barack decides to call that ridiculous
car czar), right?  Lest you think that I am all nay
saying and finger pointing, let me point out that
pessimism is not the same as fatalism.

I believe that good will come out of  the latest
fiascoes, if we recognize that change-not “is
coming”, ala Mr. Obama, but must come.
Fortunately for all of us B. Hussein Obama was
only elected to a four year term.   I suspect that
calmer heads will  prevail in 2012, when Mr.
Obama’s term is up.

America has the most productive, straight
thinking and goal oriented people on Earth.   We
have some goal to achieve:  Nothing less than
the complete top to bottom restructuring of our
government, our economy, and the means by
which we relate to the world.  That is some tall
order, and I doubt the Republicrats are suited to
the task.  If the Libertarian party doesn’t refine
its public persona away from the “legalize
drugs-taxes are bad-the media sucks” platform
that most Americans believe that party is about
(and  is the platform most quasi-libertarians have
run on), then surely some other party will pick
up the slack.  Hell, I can be an optimist when
the time calls for it.

Wall Street Journal writer  Peggy Noonan  sums up our
decidedly “optimistic” culture.  Ms. Noonan
said  of the then President-elect:  ”people are angry
but don’t have a plan, and they’ll give {Obama}
unprecedented latitude and sympathy”.  I hardly
believe that his  Lordness is the man suited to
the times we are about to experience,  but I
believe someone out there must be.  Heaven
help us if we one day fall into the kind of trap Hitler laid
out for the German Republic in the 1920s/30s.

This is where pessimism comes in.  We must not
fall for the mind numbing, “there’s a gold mine
in the sky”, “don’t stop thinking’ about
tomorrow” rhetoric that is sure to come from
the next crop of king of the hill wanabes in four
years.  That is not optimism.  It’s fantasy speak
for “trust me, I know what I’m doing-just don’t look too closely”.

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