The Best of All Possible Worlds

If you have ever forced yourself to read Voltaire's Candide, you know that 'the best of all possible worlds' is a fool's punchline. Dilys over at Good and Happy knows this too, and links to an interesting post on whether the Iraq war has made the Middle East 'worse' with the comment:

If I compare myself to a life in which I would have everything I have now, my friends and education, plus Paris Hilton's dog and Bill Gates' stock portfolio, the emotional outcome is assured --

I will feel miserable, and deprived.

If I think about the actualities and imponderables from which I have been spared -- Paris Hilton's education and Bill Gates' wardrobe -- life looks quite rich.

Let our accountings be approximate, and realistic. Surprisingly, reality-orientation produces less red ink and many more optimistic & grateful footnotes of anticipated future profit.

Personally, I despise Paris Hilton's dog, but the line about being cursed with Paris Hilton's education and Bill Gates' wardrobe made me laugh out loud.

Elsewhere, Dilys links to a nicely pointed article at TCS entitle The Night I Became An American -- at least in the eyes of European cultural prejudices...