@Minholkin I'd say optimism is the natural progression from hope. It's taking hope, doing an analysis of human history, and seeing that things have, in fact, progressed. Too slowly, yes. But if you compare today to even 40 years ago, things have gotten much better.
@Minholkin I mean, I'm talking to you, on this contraption which wouldn't even have been conceived a century ago, and we're thousands of miles apart, and we're sharing thoughts and analysis. That's wizardry right there. This beats anything Gandalf had.
@LiberalLibrarian
It's easy for folks to lose sight of the gains we have made, that's true.