Even in a gleefully negative comic there is optimism although it's slightly hidden: It comes out through a comic character's sheer tenacity. He keeps going and trying to find some sort of fulfillment regardless of his perpetual failure record. That's a form of hope a form of optimism. Really hokey I know but it's true.
It is unfortunate that Americans are no longer aware of what the constitution says and what their rights are. Because of that we are often very passive about what happens when the government violates those rights.