Saturday, January 13, 2007

I was a guest of Darla Jaye on her talk radio show Friday and while reviewing some of the things that have been written about me she asked if I was a pessimist. I immediately answered “No, I’m not a pessimist.” I believe in democracy and no one who truly believes in democracy can be a pessimist.

Here’s the way I see it. A pessimist is one who will not acknowledge and confront problems because he sees no way to lead people toward making a meaningful improvement in the situation. What these people term optimism is really just an “emperor’s new clothes” kind of denial. I’m actually a real optimist. I see problems and I enjoy the challenge of finding ways to marshal facts, ideas and people to make change positive changes.

4 comments:

Anna said...

Hi daddykins!!Here's your italian daughter.I'm happy to see the campaign is going well and the idea of the site and the blog was really cool.I'll keep checking how things go on.Keep in touch

Dan said...

Mark -

I've heard the "pessimism" line, too, but everybody I've talked to winds up agreeing that we've been duped into spending a lot of money on stuff we shouldn't buy because of glitzy "optimism". It's like going to a car dealer to buy basic transportation, and having a mayor sell you a car you can't afford insurance for. Yeah, the dealer talking me into the Porsche seems like he's on my side, but I'd much rather have a guy like you find a car that will get me to work and home.

Unknown said...

Those who hold the view that TIF is necessary to save the city are pessimists because they think businesses and residents need to be bribed to locate in KC.

Mark Funkhouser said...

That is an excellent point, snoble58