The pessimism is a byproduct of the average Freeper demo: 65, pasty White, retired, and rural/exurban. Not a lack of intelligence, but a high degree of susceptibility. At this point, the average Freeper is just the right-wing version of a mouth-breathing leftist, hooked on the same kind of 'end-is-near' influence.
You can pretty much dismiss anything TokyoRoseProtege says. None of her doom prophecies have ever come to pass.