Unguarded Optimism

Someone forgot to tell Iraqis to be pessimistic about the upcoming elections.

''I don't just see light at the end of the tunnel, I see light at the start and throughout the tunnel,'' says Abbas, 41, in a typically upbeat remark. His partner Zeidan, 39, agrees.

''We must live like other people,'' Zeidan says. ''Let a million of us die. That's the price of freedom. Have you heard of any society that gained freedom without sacrifices?''

Why is it that Iraqis sound a lot more pragmatic and realistic than most of the pundits and naysayers in the mainstream media and the US Left? It is precisely this kind of thought on the part of Iraqis that makes me cautiously hopeful that the Iraqis will turn out okay. They know that it will take tough times before they see the fruits of their labor [ed: and ours as well].