DianaRose
Jedi Master
Same here Mike. It's tough to go through. Most of my co workers know how messed up things are but they feel like as long as they have it decent, it's not a problem.
That doesn't work for me. Things can be good for me, but I still think about the issues. This may be an evolutionary trait that we have here as the book, Learned Optimism, explained that pessimism/realism was much more important to survival in tough times.
I can't but feel like the people suffering could be me, and then by proxy, I suffer. I sometimes feel like I wish I could be like my co workers who can be happy by looking at their good situation which is more optimistic, even if what they have could be taken away.
I wonder, why do we have an issue with the future being bleak and can't "tune it out"? Maybe it's something evolutionary or something there to remind us not to reincarnate when we return???
I've always thought that their "optimism" was a reflection of their lack of awareness -- they simply don't grasp how precarious the situation truly is. Besides, they've seen wars and economic collapse through the lenses of history, but they don't believe that it could happen in their timeline. Their society is too sophisticated for that, I assume they believe. It's a form of hubris.
However, your theory is interesting.