Those among my friends who know a lot about me likely presume that I tend to think the best in people … until others prove my initial belief in them is wrong.
They would be correct in making that assumption.
With that said, I must declare that I have been in the middle of an internal struggle as I seek to maintain that generally optimistic view of our fellow travelers. Yes, I want to maintain what I consider to be a charitable view of others.
It’s the current mood out there that has tainted damn near everything for me. Political adversaries no longer are just friendly foes; they are enemies. Make no mistake about the source of that visceral anger. It comes from the MAGA crowd, the individuals who parrot the nonsense spewed forth by titular head of today’s Republican Party, the 45th president of the United States.
The anger is pervasive. It permeates so much of, well, damn near everything. The 45th POTUS told us during his inaugural speech about he intended to stop the “American carnage.” He waved the clenched fist, which has become a sort of symbol of the rage he embodies to this day.
Meanwhile, instinctive optimists such as yours truly are caught in the maelstrom that threatens to suck us under. We get pulled into the negativity that emanates from others. I can’t speak for others, but from my perspective, I dislike the feeling that keeps boiling up within me. It goes against my nature … you know?
A few of my journalism colleagues over the years have dismissed my optimistic view of others. They all cling to some notion that they needed to reserve a level of “cynicism” when encountering sources or assessing the context of a discussion. I would suggest to them that I know the difference between “cynicism” and “skepticism.” Accordingly, I was able to maintain a certain skeptical eye.
The mood out there has gone beyond simple skepticism and has devolved into a cynical view I find unhealthy.
Thus, I shall fight to retain — or recover — my instinctively positive view of the world … even as the forces around me seek to drag me down.