According to S&H Millies are supposed to be an optimistic generation and I fit the description. But it seems like even among Millies I'm oddly optimistic. That's not to say I'm a Panglossian fool who thinks there is nothing wrong with the world, but I believe that these problems are not insurmountable and can and will be solved. Sometimes I feel more like a GI than a Millie, the GIs were far more optimistic than Millies are, it seems. I'm an optimistic believer in Progress in a world where such optimism is derided and snarked at.

In particular, it's the snarky, nihilistic, and misanthropic pessimism of many core Xers that drives me up the wall. The apocalyptic visions of doom by Boomers just make me roll my eyes.

Originally Posted by Odin

According to S&H Millies are supposed to be an optimistic generation and I fit the description. But it seems like even among Millies I'm oddly optimistic. That's not to say I'm a Panglossian fool who thinks there is nothing wrong with the world, but I believe that these problems are not insurmountable and can and will be solved.

From one Civic generation to another.

Make Our Garden Grow

~Chas'88

Originally Posted by Odin

According to S&H Millies are supposed to be an optimistic generation and I fit the description. But it seems like even among Millies I'm oddly optimistic. That's not to say I'm a Panglossian fool who thinks there is nothing wrong with the world, but I believe that these problems are not insurmountable and can and will be solved. Sometimes I feel more like a GI than a Millie, the GIs were far more optimistic than Millies are, it seems. I'm an optimistic believer in Progress in a world where such optimism is derided and snarked at.

In particular, it's the snarky, nihilistic, and misanthropic pessimism of many core Xers that drives me up the wall. The apocalyptic visions of doom by Boomers just make me roll my eyes.

Could it be because there is no optimism coming from the leaders of the countries? It's just all negativity. We don't hear Obama making speeches in the tone of "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." All the Republicans do is paint a picture of doom and gloom about the deficit. They don't say we must make sacrifices now but there is light at the end of tunnel and we will all be better off. They basically just say, we need to make all these cuts and you get nothing in return. There's no rainbow down the road in their message.

If there is good economic news like unemployment is down, manufacturing is picking up, housing prices have hit the bottom and within the next 12 months housing prices are expected to rise, we have had economic growth for 25 straight months, etc...Some politician, pundit, or blogger immediately follows it up with something along the lines of "This good news is misleading. Because next week or next month everything is going to crash and burn and we will plummet into another recession which is worse than what we seen."

Then there is the whole culture wars things. If you listen to the conservatives, our society is in decay and we are worse than the people of Sodom and Gamorrah. All the candidates during the Republican primary made it pretty clear that they believe Americans have lost their work ethic. From Cain's "If you are poor it's your own fault" To Gingrich wanting poor children to scrub toliet so they can learn work ethic, to Romney's stump speeches when he says things like "I want to work closely with the black community to bring a sense of pride and work ethic back into their view" and he makes statements like this regarding poor women too. I'm sure he probably feels the same way about low income white and hispanic men too. They paint a picture of America as a bunch of immoral losers...But the liberals aren't any better. They are all still harping about an unfair world from 50 years ago that doesn't even exist anymore. They constantly are bringing up how repressed women were and act like that is still going on today. News flash, women make up more than 50% of the workforce. They are not repressed and we aren't ever going back. And also FYI, Republicans are not going to outlaw contraceptives. Stop being so paranoid.

But that's what the politicians do. They feed on our fears and paranoia. Either the other party is going to destroy our country or some "evil empire" across the sea will finish us off. So when you put all the messages together. Here is what we have. The economy is going to collapse and we are all going to become beggars on the street. And we can't pull ourselves out if it because we are just a bunch of lazy slobs who don't know how to work. And if that's not bad enough we are a country of devil worshiping sinners who are going to hell because we no longer have any morals. Children won't know who their fathers are because marriage is becoming obsolete, and of course there will be lots of them because contraceptives will be outlawed. Women will be beaten into submission and sold into sex slavery. Well, there won't be any jobs for them anyway and besides sex and begging are the only things we are good at anyway. And don't look to the government to help us out, because they are the problem. Well, in addition to all of our other short comings. And finally it all ends when that evil dictator from across sea blows us all to smithereens...Now how is anyone suppose to optimistic when this is the rhetoric that is coming at us on a daily basis?

Originally Posted by ASB65

Could it be because there is no optimism coming from the leaders of the countries? It's just all negativity. We don't hear Obama making speeches in the tone of "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." All the Republicans do is paint a picture of doom and gloom about the deficit. They don't say we must make sacrifices now but there is light at the end of tunnel and we will all be better off. They basically just say, we need to make all these cuts and you get nothing in return. There's no rainbow down the road in their message.

If there is good economic news like unemployment is down, manufacturing is picking up, housing prices have hit the bottom and within the next 12 months housing prices are expected to rise, we have had economic growth for 25 straight months, etc...Some politician, pundit, or blogger immediately follows it up with something along the lines of "This good news is misleading. Because next week or next month everything is going to crash and burn and we will plummet into another recession which is worse than what we seen."

Then there is the whole culture wars things. If you listen to the conservatives, our society is in decay and we are worse than the people of Sodom and Gamorrah. All the candidates during the Republican primary made it pretty clear that they believe Americans have lost their work ethic. From Cain's "If you are poor it's your own fault" To Gingrich wanting poor children to scrub toliet so they can learn work ethic, to Romney's stump speeches when he says things like "I want to work closely with the black community to bring a sense of pride and work ethic back into their view" and he makes statements like this regarding poor women too. I'm sure he probably feels the same way about low income white and hispanic men too. They paint a picture of America as a bunch of immoral losers...But the liberals aren't any better. They are all still harping about an unfair world from 50 years ago that doesn't even exist anymore. They constantly are bringing up how repressed women were and act like that is still going on today. News flash, women make up more than 50% of the workforce. They are not repressed and we aren't ever going back. And also FYI, Republicans are not going to outlaw contraceptives. Stop being so paranoid.

But that's what the politicians do. They feed on our fears and paranoia. Either the other party is going to destroy our country or some "evil empire" across the sea will finish us off. So when you put all the messages together. Here is what we have. The economy is going to collapse and we are all going to become beggars on the street. And we can't pull ourselves out if it because we are just a bunch of lazy slobs who don't know how to work. And if that's not bad enough we are a country of devil worshiping sinners who are going to hell because we no longer have any morals. Children won't know who their fathers are because marriage is becoming obsolete, and of course there will be lots of them because contraceptives will be outlawed. Women will be beaten into submission and sold into sex slavery. Well, there won't be any jobs for them anyway and besides sex and begging are the only things we are good at anyway. And don't look to the government to help us out, because they are the problem. Well, in addition to all of our other short comings. And finally it all ends when that evil dictator from across sea blows us all to smithereens...Now how is anyone suppose to optimistic when this is the rhetoric that is coming at us on a daily basis?

This is a great rant! I can't say I agree 100%, but you have the right idea. IHNSHO, this is an intentionally created state of being. Tension and dispair within the 99% takes the pressure off the remaining 1%. Apparently, you agree it's working.

Originally Posted by Marx & Lennon

This is a great rant! I can't say I agree 100%, but you have the right idea. IHNSHO, this is an intentionally created state of being. Tension and dispair within the 99% takes the pressure off the remaining 1%. Apparently, you agree it's working.

It's nothing more the pure fear-mongering in attempts to divide us and play upon our paranoia. Their message is only the "correct" political party can save you. But wait a minute, the government is the problem...So what's a person to do? I guess we just live in a state of fear and paranoia, don't trust your neighbor and protect our children at all costs. Welcome to the 4T where propaganda always reigns supreme.

Originally Posted by ASB65

Could it be because there is no optimism coming from the leaders of the countries? It's just all negativity.

I can say for certain that for our politicians nothing is ever negativity. Being a pessimist is not a "constructive" way to deal with problems, as the saying goes. Instead it's all a rose tinted world inside a secluded bubble of reflective glass. Meanwhile, people's outlook on the future is generally bleak to depressingly pessimistic. Increasing numbers of Swedes feel that something isn't quite right, that they are being lied to constantly and presented with a very selective set of facts from which to shape an idea of reality. There is a sense of fear slowly seeping into Swedish middle class society, where politicians, seeming both blind and crazy, out of touch with the barest semblance of reality, are creating this huge bag of pain that the future will be left to deal with somehow.

If you believe the greatest threat to your country is climate change, but this "challenge" will be dealt with swiftly and effectively by "sustainable development" and "free market forces", not to mention further "globalization" and "democracy", I'd say your outlook on the future is pretty optimistic.

Still, the people are extremely pessimistic.

In other words, I don't think the pessimism of the times is attributable to politicians being so negative all the time. People would on the other hand gather hope if decision makers dared being totally frank and realistic for a change. Then people might even get the impression the politicians were working for them.

Originally Posted by Odin

According to S&H Millies are supposed to be an optimistic generation and I fit the description. But it seems like even among Millies I'm oddly optimistic. That's not to say I'm a Panglossian fool who thinks there is nothing wrong with the world, but I believe that these problems are not insurmountable and can and will be solved. Sometimes I feel more like a GI than a Millie, the GIs were far more optimistic than Millies are, it seems. I'm an optimistic believer in Progress in a world where such optimism is derided and snarked at.

In particular, it's the snarky, nihilistic, and misanthropic pessimism of many core Xers that drives me up the wall. The apocalyptic visions of doom by Boomers just make me roll my eyes.

The GIs were very optimistic post-war. Were they optimistic, say in 1935? Something to chew on. I can't answer that one.

Looking at the Millies, perhaps they have an innate recognition that they are on the end cycle of the Boomer Flame Wars and the Gen X deconstruction. The only way from here is up. I need to reread Generations and the role of child rearing / Baby on Board caring.

As an aside, Jaques Barzun, one of the great 20th Century historians, sees this coming in his From Dawn to Decadence, 1500 to the Present (2000) 500 Years of Western Cultural Life. The Millies are the seeds of a renascent culture circa 2100. Good data mining for megacycles.

Mike A

Mike A

Originally Posted by M Acorne

Looking at the Millies, perhaps they have an innate recognition that they are on the end cycle of the Boomer Flame Wars and the Gen X deconstruction. The only way from here is up. I need to reread Generations and the role of child rearing / Baby on Board caring.

As an aside, Jaques Barzun, one of the great 20th Century historians, sees this coming in his From Dawn to Decadence, 1500 to the Present (2000) 500 Years of Western Cultural Life. The Millies are the seeds of a renascent culture circa 2100. Good data mining for megacycles.

Mike A

Mike A

I own the book and it is a very good reference for megacycles if you analyze the data. And yes, the Millies are the seeds of a new culture, or at least the Mega-Regeneracy? But if you ask me, we're already *in* "Western Civilization 2.1. Nobody from the centuries Barzun names would either comprehend us, or be anything but horrified by us, any more than someone from the Middle Ages.

I do think we'd be at least partly comprehensible to most Romans, especially from the time after they acquired their Empire (which was a lot earlier than the Imperial period or even the Principiate). Though the lack of dignitas, gravitas, or even auctoritas on the part of our leaders would have the moralists weeping for the old res publica. And Rome abounded in outraged moralists from Day One - another thing we have in common with them.

Originally Posted by Odin

According to S&H Millies are supposed to be an optimistic generation and I fit the description. But it seems like even among Millies I'm oddly optimistic. That's not to say I'm a Panglossian fool who thinks there is nothing wrong with the world, but I believe that these problems are not insurmountable and can and will be solved. Sometimes I feel more like a GI than a Millie, the GIs were far more optimistic than Millies are, it seems. I'm an optimistic believer in Progress in a world where such optimism is derided and snarked at.

In particular, it's the snarky, nihilistic, and misanthropic pessimism of many core Xers that drives me up the wall. The apocalyptic visions of doom by Boomers just make me roll my eyes.

I know how you feel. I have told members of those generations to either stfu or lighten up when they go on and on about institutions or govt or whatever. Especially when they go on at me as if i am naive. They are like wait till you get older or i wish i were young and naive etc etc. With that attitude you cannot fix anything. I want to hear of what we are doing to change the govt and business etc NOT the doom and gloom of it all while doing nothing about it. On with the action, lets go!

Originally Posted by ASB65

Could it be because there is no optimism coming from the leaders of the countries? It's just all negativity. We don't hear Obama making speeches in the tone of "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." All the Republicans do is paint a picture of doom and gloom about the deficit. They don't say we must make sacrifices now but there is light at the end of tunnel and we will all be better off. They basically just say, we need to make all these cuts and you get nothing in return. There's no rainbow down the road in their message.

If there is good economic news like unemployment is down, manufacturing is picking up, housing prices have hit the bottom and within the next 12 months housing prices are expected to rise, we have had economic growth for 25 straight months, etc...Some politician, pundit, or blogger immediately follows it up with something along the lines of "This good news is misleading. Because next week or next month everything is going to crash and burn and we will plummet into another recession which is worse than what we seen."

Then there is the whole culture wars things. If you listen to the conservatives, our society is in decay and we are worse than the people of Sodom and Gamorrah. All the candidates during the Republican primary made it pretty clear that they believe Americans have lost their work ethic. From Cain's "If you are poor it's your own fault" To Gingrich wanting poor children to scrub toliet so they can learn work ethic, to Romney's stump speeches when he says things like "I want to work closely with the black community to bring a sense of pride and work ethic back into their view" and he makes statements like this regarding poor women too. I'm sure he probably feels the same way about low income white and hispanic men too. They paint a picture of America as a bunch of immoral losers...But the liberals aren't any better. They are all still harping about an unfair world from 50 years ago that doesn't even exist anymore. They constantly are bringing up how repressed women were and act like that is still going on today. News flash, women make up more than 50% of the workforce. They are not repressed and we aren't ever going back. And also FYI, Republicans are not going to outlaw contraceptives. Stop being so paranoid.

But that's what the politicians do. They feed on our fears and paranoia. Either the other party is going to destroy our country or some "evil empire" across the sea will finish us off. So when you put all the messages together. Here is what we have. The economy is going to collapse and we are all going to become beggars on the street. And we can't pull ourselves out if it because we are just a bunch of lazy slobs who don't know how to work. And if that's not bad enough we are a country of devil worshiping sinners who are going to hell because we no longer have any morals. Children won't know who their fathers are because marriage is becoming obsolete, and of course there will be lots of them because contraceptives will be outlawed. Women will be beaten into submission and sold into sex slavery. Well, there won't be any jobs for them anyway and besides sex and begging are the only things we are good at anyway. And don't look to the government to help us out, because they are the problem. Well, in addition to all of our other short comings. And finally it all ends when that evil dictator from across sea blows us all to smithereens...Now how is anyone suppose to optimistic when this is the rhetoric that is coming at us on a daily basis?

The place where we get a lot of optimism, even in the face of economic woes is China. The China Dream is alive and well.

Originally Posted by Taramarie

I know how you feel. I have told members of those generations to either stfu or lighten up when they go on and on about institutions or govt or whatever. Especially when they go on at me as if i am naive. They are like wait till you get older or i wish i were young and naive etc etc. With that attitude you cannot fix anything. I want to hear of what we are doing to change the govt and business etc NOT the doom and gloom of it all while doing nothing about it. On with the action, lets go!

I think New Zealand is a good place to feel optimistic about.

Originally Posted by MordecaiK

The place where we get a lot of optimism, even in the face of economic woes is China. The China Dream is alive and well.

How much time have you actually spent in China or as an insider to Chinese subcultures?

I find your claim to be naive.

I used to have a similar view as you apparently do, however, with familiarity grew (and grew, and grew ...) contempt.

Originally Posted by MordecaiK

I think New Zealand is a good place to feel optimistic about.

maybe the rest of nz but not my location. But us millies are going out of our way to make the situation an optimistic one. For example the SVA which is still active and also collaborating in our own businesses to help one another and others who want to join.