funny and mordant
Ms. Williams has not bought into the American penchant for 'optimism at any cost,' and certainly does not confuse that attitude with being 'positive.' She speaks from fine, experienced observation of the many ways in which we (including she) fool ourselves about human importance in the world, and about human capacity for destruction emergent from our self-deception. She reminds us of the plight of other creatures and life forms, and how our oblivious satisfaction in our own well being allows us to overlook the part we play in their destruction.
