Optimism

Optimism is the belief that this is the best of all possible worlds; that this is optimal among all the worlds there might be. But as many a would-be humorist has noted, it carries the seeds of pessimism, the belief that this is the lowest of all possible worlds; that this is pessisimus, or as footling as can be. For what else can one say if this is the best as well as the worst of all possible worlds? Which must be true, if this is the only world we have.

And yet, to paraphrase Galileo, still things move along. I am still alive. I feel good most days. I am happy that people can make marvellous banana soufflés one day and equally wonderful salmon sushi the next. I take great pleasure in watching Barcelona act like Arsenal, losing their way in the second half, and worse, just plain losing. I find happiness in many things.

I am convinced that if this is the worst of all possible worlds, there can't be more than one. It's like the old joke: "You're my favourite sister!" "Of course; I'm your -only- sister."

It doesn't take much faith, I'm afraid. After all, a world in the hand is worth many worlds in some strange meta-physical theory. But what faith it requires, I am quite happy to contribute. In hoc signo vinces.

Change We Should Believe In

It's of course one of those things that gets to me, that although I support Senator Barack Obama for President of the United States of America, I will not be able to vote for him in November. That's because I'm (according to various authorities) a citizen of the European Union, for one.

But I'm also a citizen of the world, and a teacher. And as a teacher, I find myself reflecting a lot on what the big nations get up to when they publicly take up positions on education. Senator Obama's position on education, as on November 2007, is something that I can believe in: a well-rounded education, proper support for teachers and schools, accountability of teachers, accountability to the future of all our children, specifics which he occasionally elaborates on in other speeches. He has obviously thought about what educational outcomes ought to be, not just the first-stage and second-stage arguments about what education is and how it should be carried out.

Even if, as some cynics charge, this is all a pipe-dream, it is a good thing to dream about. And it is certainly a better thing to work towards in the long term. I wish the Senator all the best, especially in the face of cynicism masquerading as experiential wisdom. I can just imagine what some of my previous superiors in many different institutions might have said; I am fairly certain most of them are McCain types, and at least one is very much a William Jefferson Clinton person in both good and not-so-good ways.

But as my grandfather used to say, "Everybody has something good about them; it's just that for some people you have to look harder."