The Pessimist & The Optimist

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

I got all sorts of flack last night for being negative, defeatist, etc. I've probably been "screened" on lots of DU profiles because I was not looking at the bright future and possibilities for this country. How about another analogy?

A Tunnel. A Light In The Distance.

The Optimist says, it's nothing. The light to Freedom and escape from the tunnel.

The Pessimist says, better get the fuck off that track, or perhaps consider a different way of approaching things.

Assuming the Optimist is correct, you escape and reach freedom. The Pessimist admits he's wrong, and is embarassed.

If it turns out to be a freight train, the Pessimist is leaning against the wall, barely safe from the train which rushes past.

The Optimist is pretty well splattered. While the pessimist looks despondent that he couldn't save his fellow traveler, and can only reply, "I Told You."

I guess you could still say the Pessimist is an Asshole for thinking negatively. I mean, at least the Optimist went out with a smile. And as the joker said, "If You're Gonna Go....Go With A Smile!"

[seabeyond]

1. nonbias i am sure, making pessimist so pretty and optimist stupid.

but i dont really see it as you do. shit happens. to moan and groan about a past, the shit that has already happened is a waste of time. does nothing. changes nothing. where as if you look at the shit that happened and then say,.... now what. start at the now. and do. then you might be able to accomplish something. change. but you will never get that change whining about a past

[RaleighNCDUer]

3. Huh?

Optimism and pessimism are different ways of looking at the future - have nothing to do with moaning about the past.

Myself, I'm solidly in the pessimist camp. Look at the optimist view: Pollyanna, Candide. And the pessimist view: Luck favors the prepared, The Lord helps those who help themselves. I keep a sharp eye on the light at the end of the tunnel, ever mindful that it just might be a freight train.

[seabeyond]

6. pessimist dont see opportunity. every moment has opportunity

if you cannot see oportunity you will miss out every time. can only take advantage of opportunity if you can see its existance

[H2O Man]

10. He who bemoans

the lack of opportunity usually fails to see that small doors often open into large rooms.

[seabeyond]

7. if you want to argue expectations. then i am there with you

i have no expectation and i am not disappointed. but i think the pessimist holds high expectation, hence disappointment and lacks the ability to see oportunity presented

[redqueen]

2. Look, I understand thinking that nothing will change...

that things will not get better... that they cannot.

But we cannot afford to think that way. Please allow me to explain why...


There is much work to be done. So much, that it's nearly incomprehensible. And precious few paying enough attention to even know it needs to be done. Talking like that... making it seem as if there's no point in fighting back... that doesn't help to energize anyone to act, do you see? It only reinforces the thought that it's a waste of time.

It also makes it harder to even dare to HOPE for things to get better... because in order to rekindle that hope... in order to dial the phone or mail that letter or knock on that door... in order to even begin to inform and share and beg and plead and implore and demand... for that to happen, you first have to have hope. And to have hope is to make yourself vulnerable. Because if you are defeated, and you will *certainly* be defeated, repeatedly, before you succeed... you may end up very discouraged. It can really hurt. It can be crushing. But it doesn't have to be. It shouldn't be. It should be looked at as just another small failure on the way to success. It has to be.

We should support each other here... support our best efforts... not allow ourselves to unintentionally quash any fighting spirit that's left. Diebold and gerrymandering be damned... the will of the people is on our side!

YES, yesterday was a crushing blow... a major defeat... YES, the battle for control of Congress is an uphill fight to say the LEAST... but it is FUCKING NECESSARY.

Being defeatist and negative and pessimistic is NOT constructive... it is helping the other side. Do you see how that is? I'm not saying that those who are dispirited and share that here are TRYING to help the other side... but that is an unwanted side affect... and it is one that we simply cannot afford.

I love you all... I want us to succeed... please, can we please stop working against our own interests?

I'm sorry... I'm tired... I should just stay away for a while, maybe.

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

5. Thanks. Good Reply.

I appreciate your insight. Intelligent and cohesive response.

I will try to soldier on. What else is there for now. Just a bit scared, and more than anything, depressed that nobody outside of seemingly a small percentage of the population seems to give a SHIT!

Without the support of those more powerful than us, where are we to go? I'm freaked. Are we going into battle any better than the soldiers or contractor employees in Iraq with no body armor whatsoever?

I hate being cannon fodder for that 30% of MORONS that make up this country.

Though I do appreciate the 30% that are likely on my side, I just feel as if we keep getting kicked in the nuts, and come back for more.

And it's not so much that I am violent and feel the need to kick back, I just want to STOP GETTING FUCKED OVER!!

The sad thing, is each passing day, I become more violent, and it worries me that staying here and fighting long term will take it's toll. Or worse.

[redqueen]

13. I have no answers for you... I'm sorry...

And yes, it gets tiring being kicked over and over... with so few even aware that it's even necessary or important.

To be honest, I'm about done with it. I'm ready to leave most of this country to the government they deserve... and that includes those who are too evil to see ... too ignorant to know ... too lazy or defeatist to fight ... or too foolish to be pragmatic about our choices.

So while you're getting violent and unhappy with it... and I'm getting callous, and not really happy about that, either.

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. Pessimism is NOT saying things cannot get better --

it is admitting that they can get a whole lot worse.

The optimist will be continually disappointed and eventually lose hope. The pessimist will be able continue the good fight because of initial low expectations, and the recognition that as bad as things may be, defeat after defeat, they can still get worse.

I can honestly say I was not surprised by yesterday's vote - I pessimistically predicted it years ago. Not in exactly this form, but in potential effect. I have, so far, been pleasantly surprised that our war in Iran has not gone beyond a few covert incursions. I pessimistically expect it to get worse. And even here there will be people saying "I never really believed that they would go THAT far!" I always expect them to go 'that far', which motivates me to stand against them.

What I'm saying is that being pessimistic, as a world view, is not being defeatist. It is, in fact, what prompts me to not give an inch, because if I give it, they will take it. I can count on that.

[redqueen]

12. I see that that's how YOU see it...

but don't you care how others perceive it?

That if you're not surprised by this... well if it's so forseeable... then why fight against it?

It'll only happen anyway, after all.

This is why we can't afford to engage in it... it can de-energize OTHERS... and we need every single one of us to fight back.

[galileo3000]

4. You are right

Hope does require courage. It also requires patience. Wait for the train to pass and then continue to head out of the tunnel.

[kineneb]

9. pragmatist

My motto: Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

Hang in there. Have your towel ready (Hitchhikers Guide).

[seabeyond]

11. i am a pragmatist. but a pessimist is NOT a pragmatist. far from it