Why are we so pessimistic?

I'm not sure the article is. Because the article keeps talking about objective realities.

But human beings experience life subjectively. Making more than your brother in law is a big ego boost. Having the highest degree in your family, even if that is only a BA.

Human beings judge ourselves subjectively.

Technology has broken down borders, increased our self awareness and provided us with education. Which is a good thing, but it also has it's negatives.

One of those negatives is the borders: we are now all part of a global economy. Everyone intertwined with everyone else. I used to be able to go to a town hall that had a lot more sway in how things worked. Now it's a global system that will grind on and grind up anyone who dares get in it's way.

The other point is our self awareness. It's now impossible to live without understanding that... I'm complicit in some child's slavery because I have a phone in my pocket. Likely some of that meat I eat was treated with horrendous cruelty. The pages I need to print and waste because of some bureaucratic rule will cost the lives of thousands of animals in a rain forest where the trees were cut down in a terrible way. My tax dollars will be used to kill and torture people for profit. My car is costing other people their live's from it's pollution, the same as my plane trip. The arguments we used to use to justify this, have been proven false.

Coming to terms with our own terrible behavior would be easier if not for our increase in education.

Since the time of the Gutenberg press, population has gone up 10~, but educated population has gone up something like 1000 or even 10,000 times.

This increase in education has had a huge increase in scientific knowledge. But it also makes any individual much less likely to be outstanding.

So again, our individuality is lessened. But worse, you are average. Mediocre. When there's 100 biologists in the world, you can always find some way to be slightly different. With 3,000,000 biologists in the world, how could you expect to shine?

I think these things add to something that's been brewing for a couple of hundred years: a loss of meaning.

The latest things that we used to feel special: capitalism, communism, our nationality, our race, our religion, have also been falling by the wayside, dying with other idols and invincible messiahs.

We use to think of ourselves as special for a lot of reasons. Science and tech have made it very clear, we aren't special. Just a random primate descendant on a lonely little rock in the middle of a totally uncaring universe.

Now we can't even take console in being the best at something in our own little area.

I think these real negatives are suppressed because they speak poorly of human nature (we are silly creatures) and it leads to irrational negativity in other areas; whether it is worrying over a 'growing crime rate' which doesn't exist, or complaining about vaccines.

Not sure how to handle these issues, I don't really have any suggestions. Just more pointless observations. :p

When I think about the life I had in my early 20s-- looking forward to a middle class with cars, houses, food, etc. of the 80s-- things are so much better than they were then.

Time goes on. Everybody gets better stuff. Cell phones, health care, cheap and good food. The list goes on. There's never been a better time to be alive.

I know of no explanation for what Clinton did that would not taint her permanently.

I wouldn’t pay attention to anything from the brookings institute either.