America Is on the Right Track - The Atlantic

"Streeter observes that it's not the poorer members of the conservative coalition who are pessimistic; it's the affluent white Republicans who watch Tucker Carlson and believe the nation is on the verge of total destruction. Many of them believe that radical action, even violence, may be necessary to save it..."

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/01/american-optimism-productivity-innovation-rise/672714/

Opinion | 7 reasons to be optimistic about the future of democracy - The Washington Post

Fourth, younger voters have learned to show up at midterm elections, boding well for the health of democracy and progressive values…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/13/midterms-democract-7-reasons-optimism/

Public health experts warn Pence's sunny approach to coronavirus pandemic ignores possibility of dark days ahead - The Washington Post

The vice president has long been a happy warrior on behalf of President Trump, amplifying and supporting his boss in his more phlegmatic, even-keel way. But for many public health experts, including some close to the administration, Pence’s Tuesday op-ed in the Wall Street Journal was cause for alarm — a 420-word opinion piece that, they fear, presents an overly rosy vision of a pandemic that has already killed at least 117,000 Americans — and indicative of the administration’s approach.....
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/public-health-experts-warn-pences-sunny-approach-to-pandemic-ignores-possibility-of-dark-days-ahead/2020/06/19/fe88eaf8-b17e-11ea-8758-bfd1d045525a_story.html

It may have seemed like the world fell apart in 2016. Steven Pinker is here to tell you it didn’t. - Vox

“The world continues to improve in just about every way.”...
http://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/12/22/14042506/steven-pinker-optimistic-future-2016