“Immune to the blandishments of religions, countries, families, and whatever else that – with a smattering of emotive images and strains of maudlin music – can move the average citizen to tears or violence, the pessimist is invisible in both history books and the media. Without belief in gods or ghosts, unmotivated by a comprehensive delusion, he could never plant a bomb, plan a revolution, or shed blood for a cause. Pessimists are indeed lackadaisical as partisans in the human drama.”
