I feel like I know so many people who’ve lost the ability to feel any sense of optimism about the world… and I really can’t blame anyone who feels that way. There’s a lot of heartbreaking stuff happening, and I’m not interested in arguing anyone out of their feelings, as if that’s something that can be done.
But I do think imagination is the start of a better world, and regaining the ability to imagine is an important step.
There’s a quote about how people prefer to focus on certain peril, rather than uncertain progress. I think Katherine Boo said it, though trying to track down this quote has been futile. But the dynamic it describes is real.
I think of how when I was born, 36% of the world lived in poverty, and today only 8% do. I can also think of at least half a dozen diseases or conditions that used to be untreatable that have had major breakthroughs in just the past four years, resulting in lifespans being extended by decades.
A few things, at least, have gone really, really right. And they did so real quietly.