

It was a significant event where the good guys won. We like our revolutionary war too but there are fewer Americans victories in it and fewer places touched by it.
I can go visit civil war forts and battlefields any time I want. There is no other war I can do that to and I think the same is true for a lot of Americans. It touched everyone’s lives at the time and I don’t think there is any other war that so completely affected the mainland states.
It’s also one where we’re told that the good guys acted like good guys. Apart from Sherman the union behaved nobly and fought for a righteous cause of unification and freedom and after the war was over Lincoln was merciful and gracious in victory. His reward for humbly leading the States through their most trying time? Assassination. It’s a good story.
Likely because they were once upbeat and positive people too and it didn’t get them what they want so they have changed their ways to be less positive.
So anybody who is still positive, in their experience, hasn’t learned yet that that isn’t going to get them what they want.
It might be a defense mechanism. They were taken advantage of when they were more open and positive.
It might just be bad learned behavior. The people who have what they want aren’t very positive to them.
It is also not easy to stay positive so a lot of people choose not to. Sometimes we like to make excuses for why people are able to do the harder things that we’re not doing. “Oh I would volunteer too if I had as much time as them.”. “Oh I am just not naive enough to be that positive”