insights

A close friend of mine thinks that I was born an optimist. She is not being complimentary; she regards my optimism as a birth defect. Needless to say (but I will say it anyway) she is not an optimist. She doesn’t see herself as a pessimist (I do), she sees herself as a realist. She contends that, regardless of whether the glass is half-empty or half-full, the drink will be both inadequate to meet the thirst and one too many before driving. She is probably right if the drink is alcohol, but what if it is honey? In that case, she says the glass doesn’t contain enough balanced nutrients and also has too many calories.She doesn’t vote because “all of them are crooks”, but likes to complain about the decisions politicians make. She won’t run for public office because she is too ethical to fit in and also because if she won she would be a target for criticism. She thinks people are too egotistical to sacrifice for the common good and hates what taxes do to her paycheck. She believes that people are essentially unworthy of note and yet desires to be a reporter. She sees no contradiction in her views.Many people share her views; I don’t disagree with all her observations just with some of her viewpoints. I think most disagreements between people have less to do with “the facts” than with the interpretation we put on “the facts”, she, of course, disputes this ‘errant viewpoint”. I agree that people are imperfect. I agree that we have many problems in our society; I agree that our institutions do not work the way they were designed. I agree that most public figures are more concerned with their self-gratification and self-interest than with doing what is right or what is best for the society. I agree that every society and form of government is eventually inadequate to meet the changing world and eventually either collapses or degenerates beyond the point of sustainability. She is most likely right that baby boomers will eventually collapse our social systems, not through intent but through sheer weight of numbers. In short I agree that any and all societies have eventual fatal weaknesses. I agree that often people (including her and me) fail to live up to our ideals. I don’t dispute ‘the facts” but I do dispute what “the facts” mean.I believe that our society is a transient thing and will eventually become something other than what is intended. I agree that the days of ‘western’ power and dominance are numbered but I don’t think that what we created was in vain. I think some of our ideas (or memes) that we have developed will influence what replaces us. I think that much of what we accomplished, though imperfect, was well worth the effort. I believe that it is better to get involved than to complain. I believe that though many politicians give into temptation the system is still worth believing in. Granted that most of what we do will be inadequate it is still worth trying. Given that anyone who stands out or even takes a stand will become a target by those afraid to risk themselves. I also believe that those who try to ‘fade into the woodwork’, ‘stay out of the lime light’, or “avoid being noticed’ eventually become victims of the “Nattering Nabobs of Negativity” anyway. I think it is ‘better to fail than not to try’. I think that our society has accomplished what it has through the people who dare rather than those who fear. I think it is easy to sit in the ‘cheap seats’ and criticize the efforts of others; but just because it is easier doesn’t make it right. Non-involvement doesn’t bring safety it merely brings obscurity. I agree that people are not perfect and I agree that our society has failings: but look at our accomplishments and see if what we have wrought was not worth the effort. Our society is better today than 40 years ago - dispute that if you can. I believe our greatest accomplishments lie in the future not the past.Given that people tend to be extremely self-centred, myopic towards the long view and likely to ‘value the bird in hand more than the flock in the bush’ it doesn’t surprise me that society has such major failings. What surprises me is not how badly society works, but that it even works at all.