Conservatism is pessimistic, with a negative tendency - which we mostly resist - towards despair. Liberals are optimists, with a negative tendency, rarely resisted, towards utopianism. John Derbyshire More Quotes by John Derbyshire More Quotes From John Derbyshire The sympathies of a well-adjusted person can easily be aroused by the plight of strangers. Indeed, the skillful writer of a novel, a play, or an opera can engage our emotions on behalf of people who are not only strangers to us, but who do not even exist! And a person whose emotions cannot be so aroused is not behaving normally. John Derbyshire plight play people Education is a vast sea of lies, waste, corruption, crackpot theorizing, and careerist log-rolling. John Derbyshire rolling sea lying