"Doing better and feeling worse"

-Aaron Wildavsky

This concise observation, perhaps taken out of context, neatly encapsulates the pessimism of current times. To me, it is a cautionary statement that reminds us to keep the past in mind as we assess our daily life and future. We tend to forget that we had been through tougher times, faced more desperate situations and lived with far less. Perhaps it is human tendency to block out those unpleasant memories. However, we are not as capable of blocking out unpleasantness from our future vision. We, aided by main-stream media to no small extent, worry about our future all the time. Global warming, terrorism, gun violence, political instability, social and moral depravity, and the list goes on. At a more personal level too, we have many a bogeyman---job security, promotions, retirement, mortgages, food and nutrition, health and so on. I am sure that a certain amount of apprehension is required, but these days, it seems to me that we worry too much.