Post Scripts: Too much pessimism abounds

Having lived a long time, I am often astounded at the pessimism and ingratitude I witness in everyday life. People of my age have seen a lot of hardship and hard times — really hard times — so I am somewhat surprised at the plague of pessimism I sense among younger generations. How did we develop this cry-baby culture, a national orgy of whining and self-pity? Few generations, it seems to me, have ever enjoyed the opportunities that exist today, to say nothing of convenience and comfort.

Perhaps I am the one depressed. I have seen the development of atomic and hydrogen weaponry, terrible bombs today in the hands of even our smallest and poorest enemies. Perhaps I magnify the current plague of pessimism. Studies show humans will not learn, will not grow, and will not develop good character traits if they believe discipline and hard work are pointless, that life is meaningless and unfair, and that the future is grim.

In the battle to overcome bad moods, I like to think of "Forrest Gump," one of the best movies of the past century. Some critics wrote it off as a simplistic, sappy, "feel good’ movie. Their reviews made me wonder if they had even seen it, because the main character goes through a series of almost unimaginable tragedies.

He is born with limited intelligence, which he feels painfully each and every day of his life. While a boy, he is forced to wear braces on his legs, and he is incessantly tormented by his peers. Eventually, he goes off to war and watches his best friend die in his arms. His friend and courageous commanding officer loses both legs on the battlefield. His beloved mother also dies before his eyes. And the woman he has loved since childhood, after rejecting him time and time again for 20 years, also dies only a few months after their marriage.

Does this sound to you like a "sappy, feel good" movie?

If Forrest had been more in tune with the mentality of the nineties and the crybaby culture, he would have been entitled to innumerable claims to self-pity and victimhood — as someone who was severely "mentally challenged," the son of a single mother, an abandoned Vietnam veteran, the husband of an AIDS patient — you name it.

Instead, Forrest Gump held fast to his unshakable optimism, and felt immense gratitude for what little he received. That optimism reflects the deeper meaning and theme of the film when Mama Gump tells Forrest as an inquiring youngster: "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get."

Sure, you could get a nougat, a tasty almond; you might get a cherry cordial, but the most important thing about a box of chocolates is that everything in it is sweet. That is a very important lesson for all of us to recognize, particularly children, to accept life even at its most tragic, as a gift from God. If we make the most of our challenges, as well as the opportunities, life can indeed be a box of chocolates.

Sure, I know this sounds like preaching, but life has not always been a bed of roses for people of my generation. I am proud of what my generation has done for America. We weathered major wars, an economic depression that staggered us for a while, and we have helped countless nations get on their feet and at the same time produced a standard of living for our own people that is the envy of the world. We have permitted millions of people from all points on the globe to find a home in America with new dignity and freedom.

Young people depressed? Too many Americans seemingly unhappy and hard to satisfy? Am I missing something here?