An exemplar of despair can be seen in the titlar character of "Constantine" (2005). Played by Keanu Reeves, Johnny Constantine is a demon hunter with terminal lung cancer. He was born with the ability to see half-demons and half-angels on Earth, a "gift" which drove him to attempt suicide as a teen. During that attempt, he had a vision of hell which is waiting for him once he does pass away. What do you do with that?
He does spend a good deal of time moping around, but he also goes out to help exorcise demons popping up here and there. Gift or a curse, he spends his time using what gifts (or curses) he has to help others. It is hopeless for him, but not for others.
The opposite would be "Pollyanna," the character in a 1913 book by Eleanor H. Porter written during the aftermath of the Great War. Pollyanna despite bad circumstances, would play the "Glad Game," looking for something positive in every situation. The name actually came into our language to describe someone spreading unreasonable cheerfulness. It was probably very helpful in the aftermath of The Great War. What's wrong with this?
In "Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America," journalist Barbara Ehrinreich makes the argument that incessant marketing of positive thinking makes us passive and inures us to the suffering around us. Quoting numerous studies, she gives the lie to the idea that positive thinking helps us heal faster, makes us wealthy and successful. Instead, on a personal level, we beat ourselves up for having negative thoughts. On a national level, irrational exuberance brought us disastrous wars in the Middle East and the meltdown of our economy.
It is much better to look around clear-eyed at problems and handle them. Start with personal despair.
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