YIKES!!!
I didn't mean to start a war! All you optimists have chewed me down. Especially my husband. Calm down! All I'm sayin', we see the same thing differently. Because I am pessimistic by nature, I think that is what drives me to "fix" things. This is certainly not to say optimists are not fixers! I do, however, think optimists tend to be more accepting of an imperfect world.
Egads. Maybe optimism and pessimism have nothing to do with activism. Maybe there is no divide. Just like the glass half full/half empty. There is no difference. It is all in our perception.