wombat
hmmmm.
ya know, I kinda go back and forth with that same sentiment myself. The one about "joy". Dwelling on how messed up the world is is not "joy"-ful, to be sure.
I think that it's extremely important to educate oneself, however. There are many things that one should be aware of in this world, many pitfalls that must be avoided so that one may, indeed, live a joyful life.
If I were to be going to the doctor for my physical woes I would not be too joyful.
If I were accepting what the big food conglomerates tell me I need to ingest to be "healthy" I would not be very joyful.
If I accepted the status quo that my child should be vaccinated and then my child ended up with autism due to aforementioned vaccine I would most definitely not be joyful.
If I bought all of the "war on terror" stuff, if I looked at the world through that lens(the world is scary, send your kid to die so that the PTB can continue making huge profits on fossil fuels) I would NOT be joyful.
So, joy to me is living my life in the most educated way that I can. I am constantly amazed at those that choose ignorance. I need to be aware of the dangers to my health and well-being, so that I can avoid them as best I can.
You just have to maintain a balance.
One way to do that is to realize that what is being said on this forum is nothing new. People are people, people will always try to take advantage of others. One must always be aware of the desires of others, and realize that those desires might not necessarily align with one's own desires.