Columnist, novelist, and musician Sean Dietrich has written an essay, The Optimist’s Guide to the Present, that may help some readers slip into a cool mountain river of refreshment and higher perspective. Sitting there long enough may even peel off anxiety and depression.
Using the simple pineapple, and with his signature humor, Dietrich illustrates widespread improvements in the lives of people all over the world.
Here’s how he begins:
The complainers speak in all caps sometimes.
“AMERICA IS FALLING APART,” they often say. “THINGS ARE WORSE NOW THAN EVER BEFORE.”
But just because something was typed in capital letters doesn’t make it true.
Actually, things are not worse than ever before. Less than 100 years ago, in 1933, nearly 30 percent of Americans were unemployed. Over 2 million children abandoned schoolhouses for factory jobs. About 150,000 families were starving, eating weeds and roadside scraps to combat malnutrition.
Whereas today, the unemployment rate is 4 percent. Meanwhile, we’re more educated than ever …
“WHATEVER!” the angry people type while compressing the Shift key. “THIS IS STILL THE WORST PERIOD IN HISTORY.”
Is it? Let’s talk Earth history for a moment. Millions of years ago temperatures were approaching 150 degrees, which is almost as hot as a Porta-John at a bluegrass festival. Earth creatures retreated to polar regions, en masse. They starved, of course.
Mass extinction was the norm. Acid rain burned plants, killed trees, and destroyed animal eyesight. A super-volcano spewed enough lava to cover North America in a layer of lava half a mile deep. Meantime, here comes an asteroid. Whereas today, you have Starbucks.
I’m not saying Dietrich gives the entire scope of modern life in his essay. But what he says is worthy of consideration. Too much bad news will make you nuts.
Trust me; this post is worth your time. The mind you save may be your own. To read it, just click here.
Would love to know your thoughts, questions, and disputes. Say it clear.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.