Meta Optimism

Appreciate that optimism is on at least two levels.
Include the recent Human Security Center data in your meta optimism.

Look a newspaper or the TV news and it is easy to conclude that the world is
becoming more violent and chaotic. A study by the Human Security Center at
the University of British Columbia reported in October, 2005 that the opposite
is the case. Since the end of the Cold War,:

~the number of wars has been declining
~the average number of deaths per conflict has declined from 37,000 in 1950 to 600 in 2002
~the number of conflicts declined by 40% and is at the lowest number since 1976
~the number of democracies in the world has been increasing

Why the favorable trend? The researchers speculate that

~democracies are far less likely to go to war
~there is a strengthening sense of an international community
~interventions and world opinion are constraining many despots
~the Nuremberg trials and cases against Milosevic and Taylor have had an impact
~the UN and the world has learned lessons from failed interventions and are
  now more skilled at interventions

To their reasons I would add that:

~the world is becoming economically interdependent
~the Internet and cell phones are making information more difficult to suppress
~China, with one-fourth of the world's population, is evolving from a world threat
  to a more democratic, less isolated country.

I am not trying to make any Republican or Democratic political statement or
suggest complacency. I am suggesting that as the Beatles song says,
"I've got to admit it's getting better. It's getting better all the time."

Most people think of optimism in terms of things that immediately impact them,
e.g., Will today be a good day? Will my career improve? I would like to suggest
that we also have a meta level of optimism--a perspective on whether the world
is a friendly place and whether the world is getting better or worse. It is comforting
to learn that there is solid data supporting a meta optimistic view that the world
is getting better--that mankind is succeeding in making the world a better place.

QUOTES

The most fundamental question about the world is, "Is the world a friendly place?"
~Albert Einstein 

War makes ratting good history; but Peace is poor reading.
~Thomas Hardy

The war that will end war will not be fought with guns.
~(source unknown)

HUMOR

Q: What's the most costly war America has been in?
A: The "Civil" War.

I love war and responsibility and excitement. Peace is going to be hell on me.
~General George Patton 
 
P.S. Congratulations to Dr. Albert Hofmann on his 100th birthday. Still vital at 100,
Dr. Hofmann is the inventor of the "problem child" drug LSD. A symposium is being
held in his honor. Details are at http://www.lsd.info/symposium/ah-en

This article was from:

THE DEFY AGING NEWSLETTER
Anti-Aging Psychology
Holistic Health and Wellness

The following newsletter articles may be reprinted in E-zines, newsletters, newspapers, and magazines provided they the content is not edited and the attribution below is given. Formatting may be changed and you may use one of the web site pictures of the author to accompany the article.  

"Dr. Michael Brickey, The Anti-Aging Psychologist, teaches people to think, feel, look and be more youthful. He is an inspiring keynote speaker and Oprah-featured author. His works include:  Defy Aging, 52 Baby Steps to grow young, and Reverse Aging (anti-aging hypnosis CDs). Visit www.NotAging.com for a free report on anti-aging secrets and a free newsletter with practical anti-aging tips."