Pessimism is optimism

"Bad things happen because badness is the natural state of the world. If something good ever happens count yourself lucky and be aware that this too shall pass.

Thus, I see our proper mission as easing pain, where we can, to the extent we can, the best we can. This is best done up close and personal where you are mostly likely to quickly notice if your efforts to help are actually doing harm."

Or rather, cynicism is. A faith instead of that people are basically good but that people simply don't care, is a lot more effective in my view of sorting out what happens to us in a daily trend. Things we try don't work out, often times this is because we weren't trying in the right way, but more often it is because other factors, usually in the form of other people or silly and random streams of events, have worked against our efforts. This is not a basis by itself not to try, not to care at all. But it does offer some explanation for why most people actually do not, when it seems they think they are.

I have no good explanation for the politics of that worldview or how they sort themselves out as I happen to think it suggests less politics and more direct action by individuals. I do think there is a great deal of difference between the worldview of conservatives that seems to be best expressed as everything will be okay if "we" are left alone, except on what "we" want to meddle, and a worldview that says meddling is only okay when you're dealing face to face with small groups at best. And then only maybe because sometimes it won't work any better either than our well-intended top-down meddling attempts do. But sometimes it does.