Editorial of January 16, 2025

Try Optimism, Hope Will Come

It’s over. The crazy, raucous, liquid, light-filled season has come to an end, after more than a month of e-mail and advertising batteries, deals and steals, unnecessary temptations and threatened snowstorms. We began a new week last Monday; the stockings are back in storage, the wrapping paper and ribbons in a box; the Christmas tree ornaments, or what is left of them after the kids and the cats, are carefully wrapped in tissue paper and the turkey has long been tetrazzinified and vanquished. The evergreen needles are swept up and the dear old Christmas trees, now limp and almost bare, are languishing outside atop the snowdrifts, bereft of their magical decorations, awaiting a death march to the mulch pile.

The season was pretty good. Our local businesses and museums did well, Santa was jovial and engaging, the firemen provided lots of entertainment for the children and their parents, the dogs and cats got some new treats, there was snow. Everyone is exhausted and, without letting on, glad these holidays have, once again, gone their merry way.

And now, what’s next? Many people feel down after these holidays, most probably due to exhaustion and over-indulgence, among other things, so it’s a good time for some increased optimism, a feat apparently better promised than done. The word derives from the Latin optimum, meaning “best,” and it’s been around for a long time. Today, it is defined as an attitude reflecting a belief or hope that the outcome of a specific endeavor, or of many endeavors, will be positive, and might even be the best, despite the uncertain situation and the challenges of attaining that goal. Optimists see things that way. They are positive, hopeful, confident, and resilient; they are less stressed, less depressed and less lonely; and they have a high degree of self-esteem. Even on the worst day they feel a promise of better days to come, and despite those inevitable challenges and despite things not always going perfectly, progress will be made. These people are known to be generally more healthy (they are said to live longer as well) and they are more successful in their careers and in their relationships. Their glasses are half full.

On the other hand, there are the pessimists among us, whose glasses are half empty. They have neither hope nor confidence in the future; they believe bad events, which they actually anticipate, are permanent and uncontrollable. They are defeatists. They think—no, they know—the worst will happen.

Pessimists think the worst; optimists assume the best. And then there is hope, pessimism’s mightiest challenger and optimism’s best motivator. With hope, we know things could improve, and we fight to attain those goals though that battle is arduous. We do not wait, as optimists generally do, for that future to come to us. We go after it.

A new president and a new Congress are nigh upon us, and now is the time to cease our pessimism, turn off our new-found cynicism and embrace a new optimism to find our shared humanity, unveil our common ground, and build a coalition that will achieve peace in this tortured country, respect for a democratic rule, and a salute from the nations of the world. Please.