Rick Nelson and Claude Peck dispense unasked-for advice about clothing, etiquette, culture, relationships, grooming and more.

CP: We, the people, are too cheery. I tell you this because of your sunny dispo and your status as a former leader of the Burnsville High Pepsters.

RN: My sister was the Bravette, and a darned good one. Still, I'm a happy person. So sue me.

CP: I'm a litigious person, so maybe I will. No, seriously, this is the thesis of Barbara Ehrenreich's new book, "Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America." I trust you have finished the book, since I gave it to you two hours ago.

RN: Uh-oh. You expected me to read an entire book? I can barely get through a screen of Facebook status updates before my attention-deficit disorder kicks in.

CP: Please, you bring two 600-pagers on a cabin weekend. But this Ehrenreich book left me conflicted. She has a darkly hilarious critique of the positivity industry in this country, from breast- cancer campaigns to how-to business books.

RN: I'm with her. Remember the AIDS red-ribbon cottage industry? For me it sunk to an unrecoverable low when an image of a neatly folded red ribbon graced a line of fine china. I'm sure a portion of the profits went to HIV/AIDS charities, right?

CP: The proverbial tiny portion, yeah. Yet I think Ehrenreich overlooks a deep strain of American pessimism. Look at Poe, Melville and Hawthorne, for pity's sake.

RN: Huh? I'm so engrossed in this article in O Magazine on revving up my routine that I missed what you just said. Oh, the dark side of the American psyche. Sure, whatever. Dude, you need to watch more local morning TV. Your perky-o-meter will go through the roof by osmosis alone.

CP: I am an optimist at heart, but I'm told I'm surly and standoffish.

RN: Only to the people who know and love you.

CP: Strangers regularly order me to "Smile!" I hate that.

RN: Come on, Claude, turn that frown upside down. You know you want to.

CP: There must be room for a cynical, sarcastic optimist, even in a country that invented the concept of the cheerleader. As Ehrenreich points out, we've even had a president -- George W. Bush -- who was a cheerleader at his preparatory school.

RN: Ronald Reagan was also a cheerleader. College basketball, I think. Perhaps that "2-4-6-8-who-do-we-appreciate?" experience formed the genesis of his "Shining City Upon a Hill" image of this sunny nation of ours. You might do well to follow the Gipper's example and pick up a bullhorn.

CP: Righto. Hear me roar: "3-5-7-9, things in Afghanistan are mighty fine!"

E-mail: witheringglance@startribune.com.

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