I like your optimism. I will endeavor to emulate it.
The reason, is that I never believe things are as bad or as good as I perceive them to be. Sometimes, I get fooled, like with the past election, but at least I didn't have to experience the year of dread that everyone else did.
The fact is, it is damn good just to be alive in America. Even today, where it is a gloomy San Diego morning, how cool is it that nobody here wants to cut my head off for my beliefs? I can go sit in Starbucks without thinking about someone bombing the place, and I can eat/drink/buy anything I want. Sometimes, it is a good thing to just realize how fortunate it is to be an American, because of the sacrifices of generations before us.
Yesterday, I was watching (in fabulous 1080i) a PBS special on the sinking of the Japanese ship Yamoto, the largest battleship Japan ever produced. It made me think about what American generations were going through during WWII, and it makes my worst problems (shortage of pie) seem really, really minor.
I went for a run in Balboa Park the other day, and saw this baby that was so damn cute, I started thinking I needed a little clone of my own. Yeah, me! Had it not spit all over its mother, I might be looking to start a family. Thank God for spit!
Anyway, I'm just glad to be here, and that is why I never let the jerks get me down.