Are there any optimists left? Any positive thinkers?

If you listen to most candidates, you might not think so. If you read a lot of columnists and watch a lot of bobbing heads on tv, you might not think so.

Most of them blah blah about our problems. I grow weary of their pessimism.

They tell us the world is going to hell in a handbasket. Well, folks, it has always been headed in that direction. And it always will be. We will never run out of problems that are going to do us in.

However, when we study these problems through dark lenses we are less likely to see solutions. And there is a compelling reason why we should peer through lenses of optimism. That is that today we are better able to solve problems than at any time in history.

I guess my complaint with the candidates is that I don’t hear any of them say, in effect, “Sure, that is a problem. But with our technology and intelligence I’m certain we will overcome it.”

Instead we hear Armageddon-type predictions. Walter Mondale asked “Where’s the beef?” I would ask “Where’s the optimism?”

Take a realistic look at how life has improved in this country and this world for billions of people. People eat better. More of them live under liberty. More of them see their lives improving than at any time in the world’s history. The number who die in war goes down every decade. The percentage of us who are malnourished goes down and down.

The positive person says these are good trends. If we keep using our heads and resources the trends will continue and even more folks will live under decent conditions. The pessimist only looks at those who have not yet been helped. Or tells us the good trendlines will turn downward.

In this age of pessimism too many of us see only gloom ahead.