When optimism becomes subjective Berkeleianism

A person waking up from a three and a half year coma just in time to hear Arnold Schwarzenegger's speech last night could be forgiven for not understanding why other Americans are being persistent in their criticism of the current state of affairs. Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, however, cannot be forgiven. Arnold's speech went beyond the attitudinal difference of optimism versus pessimism. An optimist and a pessimist look at the same thing and see things differently; the interpretation can vary so much that the pessimist will contend that there is barely a drop in the glass while the optimist will say that it it is close to being full. What Arnold did was deny that there was a glass. Only effeminate males would even talk about not having enough water. Reality matters to the millions of people who have lost their water over the last few years. The Democrats will inflate the problem and Republicans the opposite. Interpretation is important because the facts usually don't speak for themselves (people who say this are interpreting and trying to shape interpretations as much as anyone else), but denial of the existence of any kind of problem(s) is not acceptable.

Text of Arnold Schwarzenegger's speech

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