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The scourge of pessimism
Americans today tend to pride themselves on their cynicism. The idea is if I expect the worst in people, I will never be disappointed. But, pessimism and cynicism is a disease that effects democracies in particular and leads to their eventual demise. Why is that?
If one believes that his vote does not matter, he is easily dissuaded from casting his vote. When one views the world in the essentially Calvinistic way that all of mankind is depraved and bound to descend into sin and depravity, there is no reason for personal responsibility. We excuse ourselves from the general trend. “I’m not one of those who is descending into depravity,” we tell ourselves, ”I’m saved. I have a solid moral foundation. I don’t commit the same sins as my brother.” But, in the end, we expect our brother to commit certain sins and write him off as a lost cause. He’s not one of the elect like me.
On a macro scale, that sentiment expresses itself as most people are lost. I am in a select minority who still believes X, Y or Z. We can convince ourselves that X, Y, or Z is constitutionalism, the rule of law, non-interventism. The list is endless, but in the end, we are setting ourselves apart from the mass of men who don’t really get it.
Truly, what is occurring is that we are telling ourselves that our own conception of the world, or of politics, or whatever, is superior to the conception of most people and therefore we are set apart as some sort of saved elite. We are then justified to hold anyone who differs from our opinions as inferior to us. As heretical. We can demonize them without feeling as though we are passing judgment on them. Or, at least self-damning judgment.
However, by saying that people will never change, that the world is running down and nothing we can do will change it, we abdicate any responsibility we may have possessed. Let us suppose for a minute that the world IS running down. Does that alleviate one (in particular, a Christian) from trying to stem the tide. Aren’t we commanded to stand athwart the downward trend and proclaim the Good News? Doesn’t the term Good News itself seem to indicate a generally non-pessimistic worldview?
I wonder if St. Paul were essentially a pessimist if he would have bothered to preach to the Gentiles. If St. Peter were a pessimist, would he have bothered to bring the Good News to the Jews? If St. Thomas More were a pessimist, wouldn’t he have reasoned that King Henry VIII is going to divorce and remarry regardless of the position he took? Each of those men were martyred for their optimism. Optimism does not always result in happy endings, it is true.
Why should we send troops to Iraq, that fight has been waging for centuries. The Balkans, same deal. What can we do to change human nature. These people have hated each other for centuries and nothing we can do will change that. Why should I vote in the next election? After all, there’s not a whit of difference between the candidates. Both candidates will screw you.
When a person offers solutions or ideas to address the problem, it is always easier to puncture his plan, to show its faults. Even if one does not have a viable alternative. We see this happening all the time. There are those who propose change and solutions and then there are naysayers who say, “You are deluded. Do you really think there are any differences between what you advocate and what we have?” People who throw rocks, but offer no alternatives are essentially pessimists with nothing to offer.
I choose to tread a different path than those who throw up their hands and declare futility. In the end, I might be duped by my candidate. He may screw me in the end. That is entirely possible. But, I think that we as Americans have an opportunity here to make a positive change. We have an opportunity to roll back part of the innovations and experimentation that the Left has wrought on this country over the past 50 years. To be sure, if we are successful, we will succeed in only turning back a fraction of what they have accomplished, but we will be one step closer. And, perhaps next election we will be able to make another step closer to the ideal. This battle cannot be won in one step. But, it does require a positive view of humankind, of our fellow citizens, that they will see the right and good and take steps to move that direction. If we are wrong in our optimism, we will only be disappointed. If we are right in our pessimism, we will have helped to bring our worst fears about.
