Kerry made an important point this morning.... at the NAACP convention

[kentuck]

Actually, he made several good points but one that stuck out in my mind was when he was talking about the Bush Administration saying this was the best economy ever and how everything was going so dandy. Kerry said, "We can do better". We have to believe we can do better than what we have now. What kind of American could be proud with the direction our nation is going and wants to continue? Certainly there are some, but they are definitely in the minority....or insane.

[bryant69]

1. Or possibly both

One never knows.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[rogerashton]

2. Optimism vs. Pessimism

According to the American novelist James Branch Cabell:

"The optimist says that this is the best of all possible worlds, and the pessimist is afraid the optimist might be right."

The optimism of Adam Smith and William Godwin was a belief that we can and, with a little good sense and application, will do better as time goes on. Another name for that kind of optimism is "progressivism."

What is optimistic about the claim that we CAN'T do any better -- that "this is the best of all possible worlds" so there is no point in trying to improve it? Sounds like pessimism to me, as it did to JB Cabell.

I've been working on a lecture on this topic for a fall course on sustainability -- that's why the names of the great thinkers and litterateurs come so trippingly to my keyboard.