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November 21, 2007
whatever happened to optimism?
There seems to be one constant throughout history. Every culture and civilization has had a group of people that claims the end is near. In previous centuries these claims have normally come from various religious groups, but over the last three hundred years this has changed. It could be even further back, but Thomas Malthus is the first example that comes to my mind. I've covered this before, but he believed that population growth was "unsustainable" and would result in massive worldwide starvation. His grim forecasts caused alarm all over the world. England even implemented policies in hopes of reducing the population.
Obviously Malthus was wrong, mostly because he didn't anticipate human ingenuity. This seems to be the core problem with all the doomsayers. They believe humans are the problem. The current Global Warming debate is the best example. Many on the side of extreme environmentalism will only be happy if everyone is living in mud huts growing their own potatoes. There's a religious fervor that people with this backward philosophy embrace.
Every generation faces problems. My parents' generation faced the Cold War, Vietnam, and nuclear annihilation during the Cuban Missile Crisis. My grandparents' generation faced the Great Depression, World War II, and the Korean War. There are some challenges ahead for my generation, but I refuse to believe that we're a breath away from catastrophe. Listening to the current crop of Presidential candidates one would think that we're living in the worst period in American history. This defeatist and pessimistic attitude will not lift the country out of the current malaise .
Americans have always risen to the occasion thanks to our relentless pursuit of happiness. Our greatness is fueled by our optimism and our ability to overcome the toughest challenges. American history is littered with terrible events, but it is also abundant in heroes who met and overcame those challenges. The next great American leader will not tell us how bad things are, but will tell us how great it will be when we get there. Someone needs to seize the optimistic lifeline that is uniquely American.
Posted by nemov at November 21, 2007 7:40 AM
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Comments
Jingo.
Posted by: brown at November 21, 2007 10:40 AM
It's funny that someone who is afraid of nationalism also believes that centralized bureaucratic control is the answer for most problems. That's the definition of extreme nationalism as far as I'm concerned.
Posted by: nemov at November 21, 2007 4:24 PM
to be more accurate i believe that the decision as to whether the govt or the private sector can perform a public service more effectively needs to be carefully considered on the basis of fact and not on the basis of ideology.
Posted by: brown at November 26, 2007 5:34 PM