In American eyes (as many a bemused British visitor has noted), not to be basically optimistic is vaguely wicked and certainly pointless. Defeatism is a waste of life, a throwing away of potential and infinite possibilities. Constant self-improvement is not just a virtue: it is what life is about.
Remind me not to move to England.
What arguments there are in the US about big v small government are marginal nit-picking by our standards.
Not So Fast 