Remember Dr. Pangloss in Voltaire’s “Candide”? He is satirized for believing that we “live in the best of all possible worlds.” Candide is more measured and doubtful. But contrary to liberal orthodoxy, Pangloss was right. Voltaire’s writings fueled the French Revolution, which swapped King Louis XVI for the Reign of Terror, Napoleon, the grisly reintroduction of slavery in Haiti, and Napoleonic wars in Europe for more than two decades. Thereby hangs a tale.

What makes news is the aberration of evil or calamity. The exception is taken for the rule. The good is invisible and uncelebrated. Discontent is generated by believing things are far worse than they really are.

Think of the three branches of the federal government: Congress, the White House and the Supreme Court. Public confidence in these institutions is subpar because of biased media reporting.

The approval rating of Congress has dwindled to 13 percent, less than popular support for bank robbers Jesse and Frank James. But Congress deserves much better. Convicted foreign agent Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) and expelled, indicted, Pinocchio-like Congressman George Santos (R-N.Y.) are exceptions that probe, but do not disprove, the general rule. But innocence does not make for good headlines. Can you imagine a front-page story blaring, “Not a single one of 535 members of Congress was charged or convicted of a felony yesterday”?

Members are generally erudite, engaging, personable, honest and courteous. They are Horatio Alger heroes. Their offices are friendly. They do wonderful constituent service to help navigate inscrutable bureaucracies. They pass enlightened legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, which has not only stemmed spiraling inflation and home mortgage rates but plunged unemployment to 4.3 percent during a transition to a green economy and the curtailment of oil and gas from Russia.

This Congress has showered weapons on Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan to defend democracy from the onslaught of terrorists and tyrants. It recognizes that we stand at Armageddon, and we fight for the Lord. Congress has jumped the annual Defense budget to $841.4 billion to deter an invasion from Russia or China or a potential nuclear attack by Iran or North Korea.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has skillfully maintained a razor-thin House Republican majority with genius-like ad hoc alliances with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. Congress has checked the radical left in the Senate from imposing enervating environmental shackles on the economy and extravagant social spending that has already raised the national debt to $36 trillion.

I do not swoon over President Joe Biden, but he is an honorable man. He loves his family, right or wrong. He has selflessly devoted his life to public service. His debonair and accomplished son Beau died a tragic death in 2015, as did his first wife and daughter in 1972. He has kept the United States loyal to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. He has refused to undo President Donald Trump’s revocation of the dangerous Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran, which permitted it to creep closer to nuclear weapons. He has imposed crippling trade and investment sanctions on our existential-threat enemies like China and Russia to protect United States workers and high-paying manufacturing jobs. He brought a resolution to the longstanding Julian Assange quagmire with the latter entering a guilty plea to conspiring to violate the Espionage Act.

The United States Supreme Court also deserves a 21-gun salute. The hysteria over gifts and vacations to the justices is misplaced. They are making staggering sacrifices, accepting compensation at a tiny fraction of what they could earn in the private sector. The bench is a model of inclusiveness: two Black justices, one Latina, four women, six Catholics, two protestants and one Jewish justice.

Attend a Supreme Court oral argument. You will be awed by the civility and courtesy among the justices and advocates. The differences of opinion among the justices do not find expression in interpersonal friction or chilliness. They remain a band of brothers and sisters. A substantial percentage of the high court’s opinions are unanimous. But the 5-4 or 6-3 decisions capture the headlines to create a false appearance of divisiveness. The court has aggressively defended freedom of religion, putting it on an even constitutional field with secular life. It is no longer a second-class First Amendment right. President George Washington’s Farewell Address underscored, “Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports.”

In sum, we the people of the United States enjoy the equivalent of winning lottery tickets. Let no prayer go unsaid.

Armstrong Williams (www.armstrongwilliams.com; @arightside) is a political analyst, syndicated columnist and owner of the broadcasting company, Howard Stirk Holdings. He is also part owner of The Baltimore Sun.