Culture Box
Cos’ you’re a pessimist, my friend said, a misguided sentiment if there was one. It’s one thing to recognize the realities of life, quite another to see only the dark side. Since when is being cognizant of life’s harsh realities enough to label someone a “pessimist”.
I don’t even remember what the conversation was about but I took strong offence at being labelled a pessimist. Now, I’m certain that there are many so-called pessimists out there but I am not one of them. So whether or not the glass is half-full or half-empty, the fact is that there is a space which can be filled with juice. You can either pour the juice yourself or wait on someone to do so.
Pessimism, according to Wikipedia, which one should not really use as a reference, is a painful state of mind which negatively colours the perception of life, especially with regard to future events. Nope, definitely not me! My mind is peaceful and although I am a bit sceptical of some future events, that’s only from harsh experience.
There are also apparently different forms of pessimism such as moral pessimism, intellectual pessimism, political pessimism (understandable), cultural pessimism, environmental pessimism and eschatological pessimism (something to do with the end of the world or alien contact). I guess one can be a pessimist in a particular area but does that make one a partial pessimist… a pemist, say?
So ask yourself a few questions. Do you believe that Georgetown will flood when it rains heavily? That the minibus conductor will never learn manners? That the ugly, mangy stray dog which has taken up residence on your steps and stays despite being informed more than once that by remaining he has accepted that he is eligible for a one-way ticket to dog hell, will ever move? Issues such as these make not a pessimist; they are simply recognizing the inevitable.
For Georgetown will flood, the minibus conductors will try to pack five in a row and that mutt will remain. That is reality.
“Pessimism is sometimes understood to be a self-fulfilling prophecy; that if an individual feels that something is bad, it is more likely to get worse”. That was from Wiki too. Well sometimes because of experience, some of us have no choice but to be cynical.
Some people prefer to think to look on the “brighter side” and always “hope for the best” and think that things will turn out right; when they say that it sounds cheesy and sadly deluded. They think that the storm will pass and when it hits they are unprepared. It would be interesting to find out how many people consider themselves pessimists or optimists. I guess many wound consider themselves neither and put themselves in a category falling somewhere in-between.
That is possible. In a few ways, I guess I am a pessimist. For example, if someone were to ask me what I thought about the next election and give me choices of whether 1) I am excited by one or two visionary candidates; 2) feel that things have got to get better; or 3) figure that regardless of who wins nothing will change… guess what answer I would choose? And for the record, I think that you would do the same.