I usually feel very optimistic about things.

I feel optimistic about the direction in which our country will go since the election.

I feel optimistic about people in general, and most people individually.

I am optimistic about humanity's chances of surviving the next few millennia.

But I am increasingly pessimistic about the economy of the U.S. and of the rest of the world. I feel things will look dim for the next year, maybe a little longer.

And I am concerned about the ability of my family members, friends, and everyone else to make a decent living during that time.

I hope (more optimism) that the government is doing things that will have a positive effect on the economy.

I don't know yet if that will happen, or if so, when.

I don't know what other countries will do in concert with us, or in response to us.

Will we see naked greed overcoming cooperation in other countries economic policies and in international trade?

Maybe. (Less optimism there.)

Everyone will likely be hurting. Will we see that behavior in our own country?

Should I just stay optimistic no matter what?

Can optimism have any effect?

If I feel positive, will it encourage me to do positive things, and would that encourage others to do positive things, and could that help?

If I act in positive ways, could that make positive changes in the world around me?

If a butterfly flaps its wings in Beijing, might that cause Martha Stewart to go back to jail in Connecticut?

If I "Pay It Forward", and then want a refund later, do I have to take S&H Green Stamps?

If I say everything will be okay, and I truly believe everything will be okay, does that mean I need a frontal lobotomy?

I don't know.

I hope not.

I hope everything will be okay.

I guess in the end I'm really only concerned with my own survival...

I don't need much.

As long as I can have my Triple Espresso Macchiato Frappucino four times a day, and as long as I can still buy my Prada dog polisher, and as long as I can still get my New York Times and Wall Street Journal ironed every morning by Jeeves, and as long as I can still drive my Peterbilt 8 wheel drive 900 horsepower sport utility vehicle to pick up the kids at the Rancho Cucamonga Juan Corona Memorial School For Wayward Boys, and as long as I can winter in Ibiza and summer in the Playboy Mansion, I will be fine.