Pessimist, optimist or realist? 

Glenn Harper

Gloria Towne | All Around Towne Photography

One of the tests of whether one is an optimist or a pessimist is the old question, “Do you see the glass as half full, or half empty?” As with most things in life, the question of whether one is a pessimist, optimist or a realist is a nuanced one.  

Here are some differing views: 

The optimist: "The glass is half full." 

The pessimist: "The glass is half empty." 

The engineer: The glass is twice as big as it needs to be.  

The opportunist: "Dear optimists, pessimists and engineers — I just drank the water." 

The Politician: "The glass would be more empty if the opposition were in charge." 

The chemist: The glass is completely full — half with water and half with air (nitrogen, oxygen, and argon). 

The realist: "It depends on whether you were filling it up or drinking it down. 

One day Ms. Jones asked her sixth grade class “Can anybody tell me what is a pessimist?” 

Little Johnny said, “I think that’s what you call that rubber thing some men put on so the lady doesn’t get pregnant.” 

“That’s interesting,” said the teacher. “Then what’s an optimist?” 

After thinking for a moment, the boy replied, “Someone that doesn’t use a pessimist.” 

Sometimes, a pessimist can be a useful prophylactic against unwanted outcomes, especially when some fast-talking huckster is trying to get into your pants for your wallet. 

Pessimism, or at least critical thinking, is called for in these days when we were promised lower prices on groceries, energy and gas, better health care, an end to the Ukraine war on day one, no new wars, accountability and transparency, respect on the world stage, etc. 

We’re accustomed to over-promising, under-delivering and puffery in salesmen and carnival barkers, but this is literally Bizarro World double-speak. Far from making our country great, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (or OBBBA, the sound you might make when something is being shoved down your throat) is set to introduce cuts to Medicare and Medicaid in January 2027. Add to that the existing cuts in support for the Affordable Care Act and SNAP causing 3.5 million people to lose nutrition assistance. 

Billionaires are building data centers to surveil us while they are building bunkers in which to escape should their AI, global warming, or outraged mobs make life above ground impossible for them.  

“Trickle down” economics has always been doomed to fail because greed is a cup that grows with the filling, thus it can never overflow to trickle down. 

If allowing the obscenely wealthy to avoid taxes was the secret, surely we’d have one or two benevolent billionaires donate a small fraction of their wealth to the common good to provide for the unhoused and unfed, leaving them hundreds of billions in their coffers to drool over.  

Instead, they are buying up farmland and housing inventory, and renting them back to us, while buying up all the media outlets to tell us how great things are with them in charge.  

I know that’s a lot of pessimism, but here is where optimism and realism come in. We are blessed to live in a community with an abundance of natural beauty and resources, with many caring, intelligent people who value community service. If we can’t count on the federal government to continue to provide supports we’ve always relied on for our elders, we need to seek out and create networks of local support. 

Instead of sitting in front of the TV or device absorbing all the gloom and doom, get out and breathe fresh air, touch the grass, pet a dog, make a new friend. If you have a religious faith, connect through your church. If not, join a senior center, a civic organization, call up an old friend, or seek out new ones in your daily activities. Isolation is the enemy of both our mental and physical well-being. 

Maybe the best course is to be pessimistic in our expectations of others, optimistic in our own aspirations and realistic as we find ways to do what we can to make our world a better place to live. 

There are two free Elderhood Roundtable events in the week ahead: 

On Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 1 p.m. at the Lacey library we’ll have a presentation by Senior Services for South Sound talking about the many programs and resources they offer the elder community. 

On Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 1 p.m. at the Tumwater library we have historian and descendant of local settlers, Don Trosper, talk about lesser known aspects of our local history. 

Both of these events are good opportunities to meet new people and make new friends! 

Glenn Harper provides support in aging and end of life. He is Chair of the Lewis-Mason-Thurston Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council and board member of the Senior Action Network. He facilitates several free Death Cafe and Elderhood Roundtable gatherings in the area where Elders are invited to talk about difficult topics in a nonjudgmental space. Learn more about these events here.