18 votes

Better Things Are Possible

Posted by Aerrol (edited )
Tags: optimism, society

Hi Tilderinos!

I've recently found myself being less and less interested in posting to Tildes and reading less, which surprised me as it had become a pretty strong habit for me. After giving it some thought, I've realized it's because I have noticed a sharp uptick in negative sentiment being posted about/shared here (largely in the forms of pessimism/defeatism and/or apathetic/indifferent responses to people's struggles and experiences), and so I wanted to actually do something about it rather than simply grumble and let it continue unabated.

This isn't to shame or tone-police anyone - it's rough out there, and I don't think posters are on here trying to put struggling people down. But I wanted to come back with something firmly, boldly optimistic: I believe that we are actively making the world a better place. Yes, even you, random reader who might feel like they're stuck in a rut and/or doing nothing notable. Just by frequenting a website that's explicitly geared towards constructive communication and deeper thinking, you're making the world a better place. I truly mean that!

I think good things are still happening, and I think a lot of really smart people aren't giving up on trying to make the world a better place, one small step at a time. To quote one of my favourite BlueSky Poster's Username: Better Things Are Possible.

Never forget it!

I'll share a few positive trends I've noticed lately in the comments, and hope others will share as well - but no pressure. I hope this brightens even one person's day!

6 comments

  1. [2]
    Aerrol
    (edited )
    Link
    In no specific order of interest or magnitude, here are some things that make me feel more optimistic: Mayor Mamdani has actually seemed to live up to his campaign promises so far, making...

    In no specific order of interest or magnitude, here are some things that make me feel more optimistic:

    • Mayor Mamdani has actually seemed to live up to his campaign promises so far, making remarkable progress in a short time as NYC.
    • Kat Abughazaleh, who I find absolutely inspiring, lost her Democratic Primary campaign in Chicago by a thin margin despite monumentally rough odds as an openly socialist palestinian dedicated to calling out AIPAC and Israel's genocide. But she hasn't given up - she beat the absurd Trumped up (pun intended) charges against her and another anti-ICE Protester and is continuing to build a Mutual Aid Network that is trying to change how campaign finance, politics, and social support works.
    • In Vancouver, where housing has been in permanent crisis levels of cost for over a decade, prices seem to be finally falling and I still see a ton of construction going on around the city. Who knows if the momentum can be continued, but it's already surpassed my pessimistic expectations.
    • The Canadian Federal Government and Provincial Governments have shockingly maintained a pretty unified front against the absurd attacks of the Trump Administration. This, despite multiple Premiers (especially Alberta's) who have previously flirted with the Republican Party and MAGA (Alberta's Premier has been on various MAGA podcasts, barf).
    • The Artemis missions and the Lunar mission plans more broadly continue to receive global support and are accelerating despite the chaos in America. This has coupled with much more serious interest in more sustainable approaches to the entire tech stack needed - water based fuels, approaching Lunar base building and infrastructure carefully, simulation, etc.
    • Expansion of renewable energy sources and electrification is still increasingly at a very happy pace globally, even if the uptake of electric cars has hit a wall in North America.
    • Edit I just remembered - Maybe they ultimately fail, but commercial Fusion Power companies likes General Fusion continue to survive and even expand, which makes me very excited to see if they can finally crack that nut.
    11 votes
    1. RheingoldRiver
      Link Parent
      I live in Cook County and want to add that Kat lost the primary to Daniel Biss who has been at the local/state level for over a decade and had pretty much the entire establishment behind him, so...

      I live in Cook County and want to add that Kat lost the primary to Daniel Biss who has been at the local/state level for over a decade and had pretty much the entire establishment behind him, so it was really quite remarkable how well she did.

      I am not a big fan of Biss, because of the academic retractions he's had to make and especially after one of his former students disclosed an inappropriate relationship he had with her. I also think he's been pretty ineffectual as mayor of Evanston. But he will probably vote correctly on bills and we could do a lot worse. (I early voted for Kat before the news about Biss's student broke).

      Also I will be attending a very small Q&A with Biss next month, if anyone has questions you'd like answered I'd be happy to ask them if I have the opportunity and then convey his answers here, particularly for anyone who lives in the district.

  2. [2]
    snake_case
    Link
    I have been working towards a similar goal, but, concentrating my focus just on my own happiness. There are things about this world that I cannot change, but it doesn’t need to affect my...

    I have been working towards a similar goal, but, concentrating my focus just on my own happiness.

    There are things about this world that I cannot change, but it doesn’t need to affect my happiness. I can still control the world around me and find beauty in it, even though there are wars happening far away from me.

    I very strongly believe that a better world begins with myself, if I can find satisfaction in myself and whats around me, then I can begin to change the world.

    I have already found that when I am happy I can make the people around me happy, and they’re the world to me.

    3 votes
    1. Aerrol
      Link Parent
      Local is everything (a fact I always forget myself as a devout lover of big picture social systems and world-changing events). Good work! If even a quarter of the population were all so dedicated...

      Local is everything (a fact I always forget myself as a devout lover of big picture social systems and world-changing events). Good work! If even a quarter of the population were all so dedicated to improving our local communities or even our personal happiness, the world would be monumentally better.

      1 vote
  3. [2]
    kacey
    Link
    Thank you for posting this, and I hope I haven't been one of the people spreading negativity and pessimism here. Been having a bit of a morning and it really brightened my day to see this, instead...

    Thank you for posting this, and I hope I haven't been one of the people spreading negativity and pessimism here. Been having a bit of a morning and it really brightened my day to see this, instead of doomscrolling instagram.

    2 votes
    1. Aerrol
      Link Parent
      I'm really thrilled to hear it helped brighten your day! I believe in you and you're gonna go do great things!

      I'm really thrilled to hear it helped brighten your day! I believe in you and you're gonna go do great things!

      1 vote