How are you feeling these days? Are you optimistic or pessimistic?

[Stinky The Clown]

Which is growing for you? Are you more less optimistic today than, let's say, a year or two ago? Or on the last Inauguration Day?

[The Magistrate]

1. Not Much More Pessimistic Than Usual, Sir

But the last couple of years could have been handled a bit better than they were....

[demosincebirth]

2. Yes, very.

[L0oniX]

3. Totally 100% pessimistic ...maxed out.

[Thunderstruck]

4. Pessimistic. Civilization is collapsing. Hard to be optimistic under the circumstances.

[Liberal Veteran]

5. Misanthropic.

[JDPriestly]

6. Pessimistic about politics, the environment and human rights.

Optimistic about family and friends.

[Shiver]

7. Optimistic.

Pessimism is so depressing.

[charmay]

8. I live in Wisconsin

How could I be anything but pessimistic.

[SoCalNative]

9. Neither

I've become completely apathetic.

[northoftheborder]

10. Pessimistic.

[RagAss]

11. "I could act like a man !"

[Stinky The Clown]

16. Johnny? Johnny Fontane? Is that you?????

[RagAss]

33. LOL !

[snappyturtle]

12. I'm sick to my stomach. Is that pessimistic? nt

[RKP5637]

13. OK, to be truthful, prior to 2008 I was optimistic things would get better when

Bush was gone. Now, since 2008, I'm pretty pessimistic. Although some things have gotten better, I'm still pessimistic, because the majorities were squandered, so now I think, what now. We had the majorities and that got F'ed up, so now what, more hope for change.

IMO it could have been far different. So now I look ahead, majorities again? Is that the new hope? IMO the priorities within the democratic party are screwed up. And with our corrupt bought government by whomever bellies up to the bar with the most money gets their way, it's pretty hard to be really optimistic.

I feel "we the people have been screwed," and what gets to me is many Americans are saying thank you for F'ing over us for years now.

[rug]

14. Pessimistic about electoral polifics. Optimistic about social change.

[vi5]

15. Pessimistic....

For years I watched my country go down a dangerous, spiteful, self centered path. I believed that the elected members of my political party (Democrats) of the past 23 years since I've been voting age and even prior to that based on what I knew of politics would help us get back on the right path if we were able to regain power.

Then I was pessimistic that this country elected a black man.

Since then it's been all down hill. I've watched my party squander opportunity after opportunity and to continue the policies that had us going down that dangerous, spiteful, self centered path.

I know sit as I watch my party pretty much entrench right wing world views into conventional wisdom. I had seen them do it over the past 20 years on foreign policy. And in the past 2 years I"ve seen them do it on pretty much everything else.

There is nothing left but a handful of elected officials to still keep the flame of compassion and proggresion and liberalism alight.

[pscot]

17. The future looks pretty bleak

We peaked about 1955, I think.

[Edweird]

18. Definitely pessimistic.

[and-justice-for-all]

19. I am optimistic....

I hope that people will soon come to realize that the republicons and their teahadist terrorist orgaization are destroying their livelihoods and their childrens futures..

[Zorra]

20. More optimistic than a year ago because of recent events in Wisconsin.

I believe real change is going to have to begin with us, working primarily outside of the political system but within also within the system a little bit.

I am far less optimistic than I was last inauguration day, when I naively still thought that we maybe we could actually change things primarily from within the political system.

Now, once again, I'm at least I'm very clear on how to approach the situation.

[jwirr]

21. I am both - pessimistic regarding our current situation and optimistic

about our future. Sooner or later we are going to have to make the changes to secure our future and most of those are taking place on a local level.

[nolabear]

22. Sometimes I am optimistic, but then I come to DU.

And I'm damned if I can figure out whether it makes me more realistic or just hypervigilant and pessimistic. I stay for the smart stuff, which is here in abundance, but I fear the rage and pessimism doesn't make me work any harder to improve things and might do just the opposite.

But I guess that's a question for another post.

[alsame]

23. Scared for myself and what the rest of my life will

be like. Oddly relieved that I have no children, but worried about what kind of country this will be when my very young nieces and nephew are adults. Betrayed by the Democratic Party that I've worked for and contributed to since I was 18. Repulsed by my fellow citizens who are enabling the right wing agenda. I guess that puts me in the 'pessimistic' camp.

[wysingm]

24. in the best of times, in the worse of times

Black America's permanent recession in the best of times, in the worse of times: Black unemployment in 2003 was 10.8 percent. It is now 15.5 percent.

[LWolf]

25. I'm pessimistic.

No change from inauguration day, except that, in this case, it's depressing to be proved correct.

[stuntcat]

26. it happened 15 years ago, I started reading science/environment news.

my pessimism started. I don't blame politicians, I blame human nature. Every month the news gets worse and the future looks more pathetic than I could even imagine a few years ago.

I'm glad I resisted the intense ongoing pressure from some old women in my life and never gave my innocent child (precious lil #7,000,000,000?) the rest of this century.

[Initech]

27. Pessimistic, especially with these fucking money-grubbing CEOs.

[mmonk]

28. I went from cautiously optimistic to a realization

the ballot box alone cannot bring change. It will take a movement and will be long. I am not optimistic about the economy or social justice, or constitutional protections.

[Tresalisa]

29. I alternate between optimistic and pessimistic.

Mostly on the pessimistic side. Working 2 jobs to pay the bills, my girlfriend works 3 part-time jobs, and we're barely keeping our heads above water.

Just my 0.02.

[pacalo]

30. More like helpless without representation. Curiosity keeps me tuned in.

[Demeter]

31. Arthritic, Mostly

and the pain makes me cranky, which is pessimistic.

[Golden Raisin]

32. Bless you sister!

Best laugh I've had today and I sincerely do not mean to laugh at your pain. My knee thanks you. Arthrito-crankiness is something I totally relate to. Of course I also feel like the USA of 2011 in which I'm living is turning into some sort of weird time-warp conflation of the Decline of the Roman Empire coupled with the Weimar Republic so, hell yeah, pessimistic it is. Hope you whup Arthur's ass.