I View Life As Tragic, Which Enables Me To Be An Optimist

One benefit of reading back into history is to discover that humans do not change. The same human nature that afflicted great thinkers more than two-thousand years ago, such as Socrates(470–399 BC), to emperors such as Constantine (272–337 AD), and Charlemagne (742–814 AD), to the Vikings of the 11th-century to the men and women in World War II in the 20th-century, still afflicts us humans today. Although this can be very depressing — especially when you consider that people will continue to commit atrocities as long as there are humans — it’s also inspiring when you live in a time and place that has established (for the most part) law and order.

Today, a stabilized society with predictability becomes a blessing! And I am thankful for each moment that passes with peace. I have no worries like my ancient ancestors did. Worries, such as an invading tribe rampaging into my neighborhood and conquering my neighbors, and I, no longer occupy my thoughts and the thoughts of people of the 21st-century (although this is still a problem in other parts of the world).

I can go to the grocery store without the thought of a giant animal attacking me on the way there. I can go out to dinner surrounded by dozens of people and not worry (too much) of the night going sideways. In large part due to law and order. A light hand of governmental order lays across all of us, pressuring us to restrict our darker human natures lest we want to spend some time incarcerated with Bubba.

Life is full of tragedy. Some tragedies are self-inflicted, others are externally thrust upon us. The darkness of our human nature coupled with life’s random tragedies should be enough to cause all men and women to say, “Fuck it all!” But humans choose not to. Although we may have all the reasons to. This is inspiring at the very least.

Lastly, because I understand the darkest truths of our human nature, I am continually thankful for each day of peace. The blessings of our current reality should not be taken for granted because life has never been this stable. It has been said that “civilization is a thin crust over a volcano.”

But if humans can, at the very least, create such a “crust,” then it shows our capacity at controlling our dark sides. This is why, regardless of tragedy and humanity's dark human nature, I’m an optimist.