Can outrage and optimism coexist? Most of us Americans know the importance of voicing our political opinions. But while we harp on the things that bother us, can we balance political discontent with optimism?

No matter how bleak things may appear, we should always feel optimistic. Those who fought the idea of slavery, both white and black, could see it was the right thing to do. Women who sought the right to vote knew if they fought hard enough and long enough, it would happen. Our nation was formed because of its Founders' relentless pursuit of freedom, and their optimism that it could be achieved. They followed a goal and knew that if they fought for their freedom and promoted honesty, they'd have a country that all others can aspire to. Our optimism keeps us reaching for the stars--literally. Our technological capabilities are second to none. We are a people who live in a country that is structured to allow anyone the possibility to use what talents God has given them to the best of their abilities.

When I was a young boy, my summer duty was to wash and dry dishes for the family. I remember whining to my mother, "Why do I always have to do the dishes?" She would always say, "Don't complain unless you have a proper solution to the problem, or unless there's blood involved."

With three brothers there was always a chance for blood, but I got her point. It was her way of saying that if I didn't do my job, I'd need to find someone who could, and then trade jobs with that person. Mom made the meals, cleaned our clothes, ironed, and kept up with the house cleaning. I wasn't about to trade with her. My two older brothers worked for my dad moving cases and kegs of beer. I was too small for that. Then it hit me. "How about getting a dishwasher?"

She looked at me with a half-smile. "Now how in the world would you be paying for that? Besides, you're my dishwasher."

She had me there. But, I didn't give up. I was determined that this kitchen torture wasn't going to be my purpose in life. I saved every penny I could. By the following summer I had earned enough money to buy a used portable dishwasher. Well, that's not entirely true. I had barely saved enough for the soap. My dad kicked in the rest so that I could start working for him at the store. But, you get the point. Optimism has a way of correlating with self-esteem, psychological well-being, personal health, and getting out of dish detail.

There is much turmoil in the world. We know that because the media feeds us bad news every day. We live in a world that thrives on money, and tragedy sells. Martin Seligman, recognized as the world's preeminent psychological authority on optimism, wrote the book Learned Optimism. He criticizes academics for their focus on pessimism, saying that in the last three decades of the 20th century, journals published 46,000 psychological papers on depression and only 400 on joy. His criticism of this disparity stems from the fact that everyone can be optimistic and that optimistic people are successful people. His research found that rather than having an inborn trait of greatness, optimistic people develop a way of explaining events that does not see defeat as permanent. Optimism involves a set of skills which can be learned.

America is the ultimate environment to develop those skills. Because of our history and our governmental structure, we are free to express ourselves in the marketplace of ideas.

For those who can't conceive why we should be optimistic in this country and shake their heads, saying, "We're going to hell in a hand-basket," I give you the following:

* We have the freedom we enjoy today because it is a part of us. It's like my favorite chair. I've gotten used to the chair and its comfort and security. If someone came to my home and tried to take my chair, I would be outraged. It is likely that I would do whatever it took to make sure that chair stayed right where it was. Americans are like that with freedom, making freedom nearly impossible to displace. We won't give it up. After all this time, we still have our freedoms largely intact. We, more than any other country, have the ability to use our freedom to keep our future safe from those who would take it away.

* Everybody has different ideas and boundaries in which their moral standards lie. But the common American denominator is that for the most part, the large majority of our citizens have high moral standards and know right from wrong. Hollywood might have the freedom to put out a product filled with ideas contrary to moral standards, but we have the same freedom to not be taken in. And we won't be taken in because we've seen how high moral values lower crime, improve family life, and enhance citizenship. Our history proves that holding to the truth, knowing right from wrong, and maintaining wholesome moral values always win in the end.

* The statement, "Rome wasn't built in a day," still applies. America has a long history of emancipation. Any implication that our freedom could disappear overnight in a sudden and violent coup d'etat along the lines of the Bolshevik Revolution is nonsense. Because of our tradition of freedom, tyranny can only occur here via a long step-by-step process and by stealth. When average citizens notice their freedoms unraveling, they will make sure that those who are trying to take those steps are dealt with.

* After 9/11 our stock market was in trouble, jobs were disappearing or going to other countries, and our security was shaken. We didn't go home and put up the barricades. We went on about our business and tried harder. That's what we do. We know life can get better. We know that when good stands up to evil, the good will eventually prevail. We have more than hope. We have stubborn optimism.

Stubborn optimism and goodness have a way of prevailing in the end. When my son was five, I remember him standing there with chocolate all over his face and hands, next to a candy bar wrapper on the floor. When I asked him if he ate my candy bar, he shook his head no. Under heavy interrogation he refused to break and stood his ground. I washed him up and let him run off, knowing he would crack, eventually. For the rest of the day, he couldn't look me in the eye. He did eventually own up to it.

Today we are outraged by the Middle East crises, jobs going overseas, soaring gas prices, and a volume of other matters. To be angry is our right. How can you help but be pessimistic and even fearful? Answer: you can take a deep breath and search for the positive. The U.S. government has had the capability to nuke other nations or its own cities for decades. That is a long history of proof that men have the ability to keep their governments in check. And our checks and balances have checks and balances. As Lord Thomas B. Macaulay (1830) noted: "On what principle is it that, when we see nothing but improvement behind us, we are to expect nothing but deterioration before us?"

Such practices foster hate and promote despair. We can have outrage at how our government is run. All I ask, like my mother, is that we don't just voice our complaints. Anybody can pick up a sign and join a line in protest. Find a solution that answers the question of right and wrong, taking into consideration, to the best of your ability, both the "good" goals of the divergent parties involved and the good of our country as a whole. If you find another way, a better way, state it. It's the only way you're going to get out of the kitchen and into the store hauling kegs.

Vic LeClair III is a free-lance writer residing in Wisconsin.