Whenever I get into a "discussion" with a negative person...you know the type, bad gov't, bad economy, bad this, bad that, I tend to nod and simply respond with "what is your idea to make this situation better?" Not a brilliant response, but seems to always end up followed by a long silence.
Then to part two, those who say "well, we oughta do this and w oughta do that, we'll show THEM" (whoever "them" might be) ... my response is generally ... "Hmm, and what exactly would be the UPSIDE to that? Just curious." Yep, you guessed it, followed by another long silence.
FWIW,
Don