The letters I’ve been getting recently have been super depressing, which is no shock. They’re a reflection of the times, and these are fucked times indeed. But I’d just like to say that the piss and shit aren’t the entire picture. Even at my lowest points, I’ve been able to detect a faint thrill over the seemingly impossible fact that I’m right here, right now having a human experience. The last thing I want to do is force a sunny perspective, because when people do that with me I assume they’re either lying or ignorant. But I also feel it’s dishonest to be totally nihilistic. For this reason, I really struggled with the first question. The best I could do was offer the writer — who signed their letter “Screw Your Thoughts and Prayers” — a prayer. I guess I just want to be clear here at the top that even on issues like gun violence that are so massive — and so outside the wheelhouse of an aging rocker such as myself — I do have an abstract feeling that change is somehow possible.…