Tuesday 24th October

Watching the news, with its daily toll of wars, death and discord – it is sometimes (no, it is almost always) hard to be Optimistic.  And, of course reading my blog doesn’t help either (hahaha).  Optimism certainly seems in short supply when we look at the problems ahead for Brexit, and of course the Mighty Trumpster across the ocean.  Maybe we just have too much information.

But the reality is not actually as bad as it seems.  Slowly, grindingly slowly I must admit, things may be getting better.  So what exactly is Optimism?  Is it simply an unwillingness to see the mess we are in?  Or is it a belief in the basic goodness of mankind, the longer look at History – and the realisation that despite obvious flaws the World is a better place than ever before in the History of Mankind.  There are certainly far more of us than ever before, but most have access to some sort of healthcare, most have food to eat, most can get some education, very few are slaves.  There is a growing understanding that colour, race, religion, sexuality, imperfect bodies – do not make people inferior.  There is a lot more love and a lot less violence than there used to be.  There hasn’t been a World War for over Seventy years and the real weapons of mass destruction have only been used once, despite all the recent sabre-rattling from RocketMan and Small Hands.  And the future can only get better.

Computers are becoming smarter and smarter, smarter than most people already.  Soon they will be making more and more of the decisions affecting us.  And we cannot stop this.  And looking back at the fuck-ups humans have achieved they can’t do things any worse.   We could be looking at future where far more time is allowed for creativity, for developing our minds, for helping others – rather than slogging away trying to make ends meet.

And – we have to be Optimistic.  We owe that to the young, it is their World now.  The last few elected leaders (Trump excepted) have been in their thirties – and good luck to them.  At least they have Optimism on their side – and a few more years too.