"In the long run, the pessimist may be proved to be right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip" - Daniel L. Reardon
Prima facie, this "feels" true. However, the BBC's new (October 2009) panel show, It's Only a Theory, featured psychotherapist Lucy Beresford who argued that there is a modern epidemic characterised by the "pursuit of happiness" (often fed by pills), and that sadness is actually a normal part of human life which we should embrace rather than shut out.
This comes back to the question of balance between the major and minor keys. "Minor key" romantics - from Beethoven and Byron right through to Dylan and Cohen - seem to be more attractive, more appealing (and in Byron's case at least more "dangerous to know"), but might the truth be that it is actually now harder for the major-key optimists to make their voice heard?
