Appropriate Pessimism

Got a book in the mail today, that I've been meaning to get for a year or so now.  We Are Doomed: Reclaiming Conservative Pessimmism is by one of my favorite typing heads (a newsie who doesn't have a t.v. show, obviously...), John Derbyshire.  A choice quote from Derb:

That's the core of a proper conservative pessimism: the recognition that there is little hope for improvement in this world; that such small hope as there is should be directed toward the actions of one, or a few; and that most of what governments do is wicked, when not merely pointless and counterproductive.

I've tried making this point to friends and family before, notably to Kay and Greg.  The problem is, I'm pretty much the only conservative in my circle.  Yes, sister and Chad are conservatives, but they're more in Lisa's circle than mine, and Dad's got some libertarian thing cooking last I looked, but he's not really in the circle either.  So, I'm stuck explaining why I have such a dim view of humanity to people who are fundamentally opposed to having a dim view of humanity.

I'd recommend this book to them, but they'd probably make reading it conditional upon my reading something about "hope" or "dreams of [someone's] father."  I'd rather not read for a year than read sappy claptrap. (slaptrap?)