I have long believed that our optimistic spirit is one of the best things we Americans have going for us. In the midst of hard times, we are able to sustain the belief that things will be better again one day. As I have pointed out in previous postings, though, the problem with our almost reflexive preference for happiness is that we ignore, disown, and deride suffering and people who suffer.

Cornel West has talked about American optimism as "cheap" because it exists in ignorance of the suffering of oppressed people of all kinds. He distinguishes this from his own "blues-inflicted hope" in the potential for good in people. West has said that empathy takes courage, and he's right. To empathize with someone who is in pain is to inflict pain on oneself. Unless one is willing to do that, one's optimism may always be cheap.