We're too optimistic - American exceptionalism, domestic division

Yes, a conservative, even a paleoconservative like Daniel Larison, has a chestnut of opinion on occasion.

His main argument? We're too optimistic about what's actually changeable in the future:

As we are beginning to face a world where there are no longer problems to be solved so much as realities to be borne, a healthy move away from optimism is the first step toward finding some lasting happiness.

That said, I deliberately truncated his last comment, about finding that happiness "in a confused and fallen world." I don't necessarily disagree with "confused" part, but of course, our world hasn't "fallen" from anywhere. And, if he's associating "confused" with that, I reject that, too.

But, he's right otherwise. Technology can't solve all our problems, or at least, it's not guaranteed to. And, it certainly can't solve our non-material problems.

Here's the nutgraf of his take on that:

Any nation that possesses an optimistic mentality does not possess a feeling for the tragic in history, because they have recast their history as a series of triumphs over foreign enemies and benighted and undeserving traditions at home. As such, they gradually lose respect for their own history, propelled onward to new and ever-greater campaigns. At the same time, their expectations of continuing advancement and success put them increasingly at odds with their own future.

It's an excellent column; read the whole thing.