Are they optimists because they know they will live longer, or do they live longer because they want to and have more to live for?
I was graduated from high school fifty years ago. This year, I received a list of those, who are no longer with us.
When the Nam deaths, other military deaths and accidental deaths from car accidents to lightening strike deaths were factored out, the list was filled with pessimists from highschool years to the end of their lives.
A very large % ot these negative people were born into miserable democrat/liberal families and grew up to be miserable democrats.
Most of them never had a sense of humor and expected the worse to happen to the world, their families and them. Most died without a church/religion. Maybe they had self fullfilling low expectations of life.
The liberals with a sense of humor, pride in their families and selves and with a religious connection seem to be doing okay. They would be classified as the Old Type of Democrats, and we see the same out here in California with that rare type of democrat.