Positive Negativity

Okay, let's face it: the world loves negativity. I'm not talking about the disasters that ravage unbearably unfortunate parts of the world (although there do exist some sadomasochistic psychos who actually enjoy others' misery), or depressing events, or sadness, or in general any tangible form of negativity. No, I'm talking about negative outlooks, negative tones, pessimism, realism (which is just pessimism in disguise, when you really think about it), etc. This is usually brought forth in the form of sarcasm, irony, cynicism, annoyed rants, aggravated rants, angry rants, rants of any form, really...the mediums and methods are endless! (Well, maybe not endless, but I just can't name everything off the top of my head right now.) 

Think about it: nobody wants to read the happy blog entry of some girl who won her volleyball/karate/tennis/etc tournament; they want to read the laugh-my-ass-off sarcastic articles and editorials criticizing politicians, celebrities (especially politicians), current events (especially where politicians are involved), countries (being led by incompetent politicians) and their pathetic governments (specifically what each politician is doing wrong, how, and why), and any other topic that interests a great number of people. (Of course, I'm exaggerating the amount of abuse politicians get, but it's a popular topic in my family, so it carried over.) People don't want cute stories about birthday parties and puppies; they want to read about misdeeds, about stupid occurrences, about huge mistakes - in short, about anything that will make them feel superior and better about themselves. After all, it's easy to call someone else stupid when all we're doing is watching from the sidelines. 

Which, I might add, is something I do all the time. I'm kind of a hypocrite that way. 

But anyway, it's true. Think about it. The most interesting articles and essays are sarcastically amusing ones that detail all the faults of this world and its creatures. (For example: amongst the biggest hypocrites on this planet - the one and only Al Gore! He claims he wants the world to go GREEN, and yet his ginormous house consumes more energy in a few weeks than most houses do in a year...oh, and by the way? Buying carbon credits? Bullshit. It's a way to feel better about yourself when you're really one of the biggest polluters on the PLANET.) And from my own personal experience: I get ideas for topics from things that really annoy me. In fact, I read a quote in a book once. It went something along the lines of this: "There's no point in writing if you can't piss somebody off."  

Looks like a prayer out of a journalist's bible. 

You have to wonder why that is, though. Why do humans find the negative aspects of our lives so compelling, while the cute and happy stuff is deemed mundane, uninteresting, and, thus, ignorable? And why are things the most interesting when they're shown through a negative light? Why does the majority of humanity see the glass as half-empty instead of half-full? Why does the negative stuff influence us more than the positive stuff, even if it's sometimes in a positive way? (There's a twisted question for you.) That is to say, sometimes people only take things into serious consideration when it's presented to them in a cynical, sarcastic, or ironic form. Why is that? (By the way, this is a generalization, and I may be wrong in my assumption, so don't be offended or take this the wrong way.)  

Not to get all philosophical on you, but if you have a thought, let me know. And if I ever come to some semblance of an answer, I'll post it, too.


Wonderingly yours, 
Aya