The Sophistication of Death

Which are you: Defeatist? Optimist? Realist? Why? (Serendipity Bible Fourth Edition, page 746).

Too often I’ve seen defeatists masquerade as realists.  They are the ones who torpedo every positive suggestion with negative assessments that the proposed option will never work.  They always presume to see with the all-knowing eye of God, sit in judgment of every optimistic soul for being Pollyanna’s, and typically flaunt what they take to be their proprietary sophistication and transcendent intelligence. For this reason I’m deeply skeptical regarding touted “realism” in national affairs. The more the commonweal is involved, the more it is susceptible to the cynicism of the naysayer; for one must be willing to deal with the complexity of meeting wide social challenges. Optimism and positive mindsets are closely correlated with openness, creativity, and equality – all of which help deliver us from dead-end mazes of depression and despair. Happiness and laughter accompany such creativity and this drives chronic sourpusses crazy for it undercuts the fundamental assumptions upon which their drear lifestyle is based.

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