Pessimism

This post was adapted from something that I had previously written.

Many people would call me a pessimist. I think of myself as a realist. Pessimists tend to look for the negatives in this world and base their beliefs and opinions off of these negatives. I try to form my own beliefs and opinions off of what I observe. The result is generally negative, or at least opposed to the majority.
I could definitely label myself as a pessimist, but I would rather not associate myself with people who are negative without reason. While I feel that my negativity is justified, I can’t ignore the fact that neutrality is impossible. I feel that there is a place in the back of my mind that increases the chances of my views being negative.

When I call myself a realist, I mean that what’s being said and what’s being done in this world are far more important than positive or negative spin. Is the glass half empty or half full? It’s both. Neither argument will change the contents of that glass. There are times that I will state an argument in one way or the other to emphasize a point, but this does not change the deeper meaning of my comments. For example, I feel that in order to be the best person that I can be, I need to make some enemies. The idea behind this argument is not that I want people to hate me. I simply don’t want the fear of backlash to hinder my attempts to improve myself.

Let me explain why I developed this anti-majority tendency. It goes back to my school years when my teachers made it clear that they were engaged in a war against education. At first, I couldn’t see the obvious. Once I took a good hard look at the system, I saw what a simple glimpse should have told me. Schooling is mentally destructive and among the biggest mistakes in the history of humanity. Anyone with two eyes should have no trouble seeing the system for what it really is. What the system really is, however, is nothing like what the majority claims that it is.

Once I opened my eyes to reality, I realized that the majority believing something does not make it true. I started questioning everyone. My views on America changed. Suddenly, I resented my country.

Over the years, just about every time that I have questioned the majority has resulted in a disagreement with the majority. Every question that I looked into cast further doubt into the validity of the majority’s beliefs. This is actually a somewhat gradual process. Each disagreement with the majority has led to further doubt. Ultimately, I have found that the majority is wrong more than it is right.

I am capable of being positive, but there’s a reason that my website does not show me at my nicest. Most people take the positive view on most issues. I’m not going to waste any effort to write down what a million people before me had already written down. I want to contribute. Writing about the unknown adds more for my reader(s) than simply repeating what others have already told them.

Even if I were a pessimist, is that really so bad? Things do go wrong and things do go right. I would rather expect negatives and be pleasantly surprised by positives than expect positives and be let down by negatives. Over-the-top optimism is no better than over-the-top pessimism. Optimists are generally setting themselves up for disappointment.

If you want true pessimism, you should know what my surroundings are like. My family agrees with me regarding a lot of the flaws that I have identified in society. They also insist that there is no hope and humanity is a lost cause. They want me to sacrifice everything that I believe in order to conform to a role that they agree is flawed. Every time that I indicate that I want to see the world improve, they ensure me that my dreams are impossible.

While I may not have given up on all hope for the future of humanity, I am guilty of becoming a bystander. It’s impossible for a single person to make a difference, but there is no excuse for my inability to open a few eyes. It’s far more difficult for me to open up to this world than anybody has realized, but I can’t stand by anymore watching others suffer. A lot of people feel that if you’re not a part of the solution, you’re part of the problem (sorry for the cliché). I have a conscience, and I feel personally responsible for every day that I remain silent and the problems of this world continue.