There is an anecdote Ronald Reagan told about a little boy who was an optimist: The Pony Story. Faced with a room full of horse manure, the boy said, “With all this manure, there must be a pony in here somewhere!'” (How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life by Peter Robinson.) Updated the story to reference The Mueller Report: “With all this manure, there must be a [crime] in here somewhere!”

When the body's intelligence declines,
cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family,
filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos,
patriotism is born.

(Source: The Tao Te Ching, written by Lao-Tzu, translation by S. Mitchell. Web site courtesy of Nol Allen.)