@chimeric , I couldn't disagree more. Cynicism indicates a painful, harsh, experience with life, one filled with betrayal, abuse, insanity, and an acute awareness of the inhumanity of human to human.
It is an epiphany had by those who have "seen the man behind the curtain", and who have come to understand the illusions, lies, delusions, and self-pleasing fantasies that people invest in so that they can avoid dealing with old age, disease, and death, by convincing themselves that those terrible things are not really real.
The cynical understand all too well how people delude themselves with pleasant fantasies, and then are willing to kill for those fantasies - if not to kill, then at the very least to shun, ostracize, and hate, even their own children, their families, their former friends, and any who dare to challenge or question their treasured solipsistic "beliefs".
The cynical are those who have the courage to say "Wait a minute. This doesn't make any sense. Your theology makes no sense. Your philosophy makes no sense. Your "divinely inspired scripture" makes no sense. This whole world view of yours is madness."
"Yes, well, we are many, and you heretics are few. We will shun you. We will kick you from our families and our communities. We will rage against you, for not sharing and affirming and believing in our fantasy. We will kill you. We will burn you at the stake. We will torture you in any way we can. We hate you. "
"Believe what we believe. Agree with us, or else. Reality is what we say it is. Away with your logic, your instruments of measurement and observation, your experiments, and your insistence on looking for what actually works. Our fantasy is much more important than effectiveness, data, observation, or logic."
I am very cynical. It has nothing to do with thinking myself "smarter" than anyone else. It has to do with repeated observation of how people behave when confronted with facts, logic, and data. It has to do with having been shunned by my own family, having had friends and family turn against me on a dime, when I had the raw, unmitigated gall to say, "Wait a minute. This doesn't make sense. Let's take a closer look at what we're doing here, how we're living here, what we're enforcing "belief in", what we're causing pain and suffering for. This is self-contradictory. You say you love, but you act in hate. Something is wrong. This does not compute. Error, error, error...."
"It's easy to sound sage being negative." -Douglas Feith
You could complain that Douglas Feith was one of the supporters of the Iraq War, but the quote is quite true.
I do say this....and he wasn't just a supporter, he was an architect.
As for the cynicism....I'm living in a country where 45% of the voting population is going to pull the lever for a fascist con-man, and we'll likely only narrowly avoid the disaster by the skin of our teeth. Which essentially means that half the people I'm interacting with on a daily basis are blithering idiots or so blinded by their racism, xenophobia etc that facts and reality don't matter anymore. Cynicism is the only way to stay sane.
I also agree with Belgarath. Much of the fear instilled in people that causes them to act this way is because they are afraid of dying. It's totally natural, I'm afraid of dying too. But then I think to something Roger Ebert wrote not long before he passed. He mentioned that he was perfectly content before he was born, and that he imagined death as the exact same, and that there was nothing on the other side to fear. Wise statements, though the idea of "nothingness" terrifies me, even though I know that's what awaits me and everyone. But I won't feel it, because I will no longer exist. It's a weird thought process. Suffice to say, being afraid of dying is no reason to make other people miserable and destroy the lives of people who are different than you so you feel better in the moment, and that is the main root cause of suffering on this planet.
But I would like to point out that Trump received the nomination at a very special time--when the Republican Party as a whole was (and still is) struggling to find a coherent voice, and virtually every other candidate was either repulsive (Ted Cruz) or at least uninteresting (Jeb Bush) to most Americans. Trump wasn't competing against the best America had to offer.
And once the party did very grudgingly grant him the nomination, Trump received a massive boost--as the Republican nominee, he is simply the default option for many Americans. Though many conservative voices despise him, others are trying to prop him up. Fox portrays Trump very positively, of course, and many folks use Fox as their primary news source. Not everybody sees the same things in Trump that you and I do.
And much of people's affection for Trump is not for who he is--it's for who he is not. He's not a normal politician, and I can't think of a period of our history when normal politicians were less popular. He's not Hillary Clinton, and after decades of scrutiny and multiple investigations, conservative pundits have successfully made her out to be, in the eyes of many people, a Nixonian she-beast of some sort.
45% of Americans aren't bigots or maniacs or idiots. They just believe that Trump--based on what they see and hear about him--is a better choice than Clinton.
You're using a very common and very unfortunate assumption that I see in many places in politics: "I support this because I am in favor of X. They oppose this; therefore they must be against X." In this case: "I oppose Trump because I am against bigotry. They support Trump; therefore they must be in favor of bigotry."
More often, they are simply in favor of Y, and X is just not on their radar. This isn't the only controversy like that. A lot of pro-choice folks say that pro-life people are anti-women, and a lot of pro-life folks say that pro-choice people are anti-Christian. Feminist? Anti-man. MRA? Anti-woman. And on it goes.
I've heard Trump supporters say that they honestly don't like his bigotry. They don't like those things he says. They support him for other reasons--they view him as a successful business, they view him as an outsider, and they view him as tough. I believe he's none of those things, but for his supporters, THOSE are some of the big reasons they like him. Bigotry is a part of it--but only a part.
Polls say 45% of voters say they'd vote for Trump. But polls also say over 60% of Americans dislike him.
And for what it's worth, people developed that impression of Trump pretty quickly, and they did it by listening to his own words. No spin, no interpretation--just him. But Clinton's unfavorability ratings took a long, long time to develop.
Half of our countrymen are not mini Trumps. There's more to this nation than the contest between Hillary and Donald.
I actually do believe that 45% of Americans are either bigots, maniacs or idiots. I also believe that they like Trump for EXACTLY what he is. They like that he talks like they think. Trump being a total asshole isn't a bug to them, it's the feature. The point is, if you are supporting Trump because you don't like Hillary, you are unreachable.
As for Hillary.....she is far, far from perfect (I myself was a Bernie supporter). But most of the public's feelings on Hillary Clinton are simply the cumulative effect of 30 years of constant, brutal attacks and propaganda. She's been subjected to the full wrath of the right-wing media apparatus in this country for 3 decades, and the fact that she is even still standing, that she's been a First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State, and on the cusp of being the first female President (while shouldering the burden of being the only bulwark against an honest to god fascist) is impossible not to be impressed by.
I think there is nothing wrong at all with being skeptical. There are enough examples of people out there that are out to get whatever they want regardless of what it does to others.
Being cynical is a form of skepticism and "Can" be taking things too far. So it is a fine line.
I find it a bit depressing, that @jjstraka34 said "I'm living in a country where 45% of the voting population is going to pull the lever for a fascist con-man" and you automatically assumed it was US. (Nah, seriously guys...the rest of the world used to laugh at your political situation a few months back, but now we are growing more and more concerned.)
Back to topic: "Cynical is not smart - In fact, it usually betrays a limited intelligence." I would say it's not a function of intelligence. It's attitude. Smart people can be cynical and below-average people can be cynical. Attitude and world-view. Not intelligence. Even though I admit smarter people might be more inclined towards seeing the world as it is (pretty cruel and unfair) and tend towards cynicism more than a dumbass who is happy with a pet rock.
I think you mean realistic, @BelgarathMTH , not cynical. Cynical is thinking that something doesn't exist only because you can't perceive it - and putting that on a T-shirt.
What I was trying to say was that I see my cynicism and skepticism as psychological defense mechanisms.
When I have very low expectations of people, I don't get disappointed. I can only be pleasantly surprised when people in my life occasionally interact with me according to their better natures. Despite the cynicism I use to protect myself from the worst in people, I still cling to a base belief in the potential for goodness and kindness in every human being.
My skepticism protects me from getting hurt and literally being driven mad by crazy ideas. I suffer from bipolar affective disorder, and the crazy religious ideas forced on me in my youth were major triggers for several psychotic episodes requiring hospitalization and strong medication.
When I embraced skepticism, which I define as my refusal to believe anything I can't confirm with controlled testing using my own senses, coupled with my ability to analyze ideas logically to find self-contradictions, I never had another psychotic break, and the constant cycling between suicidal depression and hypomania diminished and became much more manageable.
I'm glad that works for you. However, now that you're out of those cracks and achieved a stable base, I'm sure you will allow that there is a lot that the two of us can't confirm with controlled testing, but which nonetheless exists. I don't mean bullshit, and there is a lot of bullshit; however, a guy in a suit on TV who has sold his soul to get on TV and is now writing a book about how to sell your soul thinks he knows all there is to know about life, and I decline to give him credit even, and especially, if he makes it to the New York Times Bestsellers list.
@chimeric , I get the feeling that when you brought up cynicism as a subject for discussion, you may have been thinking about something more along the lines of the hipster or goth forms of cynicism, where the person espousing it is often trying to be accepted by a subculture that has its own values, and publicly advertises those values through wearing certain styles of appearance and enforcing certain kinds of cynical attitudes and expressions among their insiders.
To outsiders, people who buy into hipster and goth subcultures can appear rather phony, or even ridiculous, as though they were putting on airs and seeing themselves as superior to people who are content to be part of the mainstream.
Sometimes "cynical" just means "hardened by life." That's the most common use of the word as I understand it.
I took your use of the word "cynicism" to mean something that is more personal to me. It's a pretty broad term. So you might attract discussion that was more what you wanted if you could give some more specific examples of what you're getting at.
As to OP statement - in most cases, probably not a show-case of limited intelligence, I would think.
I am partial to darker shades of humour, whatever that is: sordonic, cynical or ironic I suppose. But not only, and do not obviously insist on it with friends whom do not like that style. Dark humour can be very justly cutting and analytical, at best. To qualify a little more: delightfully subversive humour does not generally punch down.
I tend to assume that "per default" cynical attitude acts as a defensive mechanism, as sort of an insurance againts disappointments of admitting to hope for the better. If it is just a casual way of someone being disagreeable, then of course I do not persist on the acquintance.
Unfortunately, cynical actions in politics and corprorate world tend to be common-place and often advantageous. I am not saying that someone stupid could never be opportunistic and tactically cunning, but it seems intelligence would help to be succesful in it.
Cynicism as a coping mechanism to deep personal disappointment or shock is pretty humane, I find, and probably helpful as long as one shifts gears, and does not get stuck.
I don't mind cynicism particularly as a circumstantial attitude or a passing mood - but I think it has its time and place, and limitations.
Edit: amended my first paragraph to make sure it is explicit I am not in direct agreement with OP statement. Realised original wording could have taken both ways.
Cynical just means not believing in goodness or truth of humanity, in that such things ever exist. It does not mean skeptical, rational, independent, ironic, sarcastic - although cynical people all think themselves such... My question, therefore, was about whether that disbelief really comes down to an incapacity for perceiving subtler things and causes beyond the obvious. It's probably a self-imposed stupidity, judging by the faces of those who profess it.
I am not convinced that he has an agenda, but from the definition given the OP was clearly taught something other than the conventional meaning of Cynicism. And given the use of "or truth of humanity", I suspect that there is a bias against anyone who is cynical.
For me, being skeptical of something that is as yet unproven is merely good sense. I believe that humanity CAN be positive and uplifting, helpful and generous. However, assuming that someone will selflessly be aware of YOUR circumstance and will act against their own nature simply to help YOU out is a bit if a stretch.
I dislike broad cynicism because it serves to normalise and justify apathy towards appalling behaviour. It some instances, it actively encourages such behaviour.
Imagine, if you will, that a politician were suddenly revealed to be corrupt. The idealist is outraged - here is a public servant abusing the public trust, using public money for his own selfish gain. The cynic replies, "Well, what did you expect? All politicians are like that; you need to learn how the world works."
And when this attitude becomes widespread, you can be sure that nothing will be done to solve the problem. If people expect nothing better from their fellow man, than what motivation do they have to actually be better?
There's an old saying - "A thief thinks everyone steals." It's easy to be selfish and immoral when you believe that everyone is also selfish and immoral.
But what I truly loathe is the sort of "snarky cynicism" that suffuses online discussions. You might not be able to clearly articulate what it is, but you'll know it when you see it. A person will make a passionate statement about what they believe, and like clockwork some "cynic" will come out of the woodwork and reduce that person's motives to something selfish and easily discreditable. Is that man standing up for women's rights? He's just a "White Knight" trying to get laid. Is that a woman speaking out against cruelty to animals? She was just traumatisied by seeing Bambi as a child. Did someone say they enjoy listening to classical music? They're just a pretentious knob trying to look smart. Did someone enlist in the military? He couldn't have done it for patriotic reasons, no, he's probably just a loser who couldn't get a real job. And so on and so on.
Myself and some of my colleagues have become what I would consider cynical in our work-lives in recent times due to various reasons. We were hashing this out over beers last Friday evening and one guy said something that resonated with all of us.
He basically said that all of us as a group are skeptical, but also somewhat idealists. As we have been over time disappointed in our leadership and various strategies, we have lost belief and become instead cynical. But in fact we are striving to find something to believe in - the original ideal - but are driven to cynical thinking because we cannot find what we are looking for. We do not want to be cynical, but are nonetheless driven to cynicism as a coping mechanism.
Hmm, interesting topic, although it seems a bit unnecessarily insulting.
I don't believe that if you are cynical it means you are not smart. Doubt in the reasons for human motivation can be a powerful form of protection. In fact, many argue that capitalism is based on the idea that people will always seek to further their own self interests over the interests of others; capitalism takes advantage of that by elevating trying to equally elevate based on personal motivation rather than class or governmental dsignation (although it is far from perfect). That communism doesn't work as well in our society, despite its idealistic soapboxing, is a very strong argument for cynicism.
But, that all being said, I think that distrusting all peoples' motives is a hard way to live. It is important to understand this simple truth: "Every person is doing the very best he or she can to take care of himself or herself." Everyone is like this, from the tyrant to the most holy man, they all want to take care of themselves.
How do people accomplish taking care of themselves? Well, it depends on what is most important to them. We all live in our heads. Some people value their family and loved ones above all else, because they tie that to their own well being. Some people value money and power over all else, because they tie that to their own well being. I truly believe that the majority of people who do horrible things are somehow damaged, in their own individual way that can never be categorized because everyone is perfectly unique.
I believe that what causes a person to be "evil", and thus perform evil actions, starts with their thoughts. Why do people think the way they think? Scholars and philosophers have been arguing that for centuries. But it all boils down to doing the best they can to take care of themselves. Why do they believe that doing certain things will help them take care of themselves? Well, it requires a very twisted mind to come to certain conclusions. Why is someone's mind so twisted? A multitude of reasons, from birth defects to terrible childhood, and ultimately to what a person chooses to bring into their lives.
I believe that if you strip every person of all the noise and garbage that we see on the outside, there is a damaged, lost, hurt, but ultimately precious soul within. Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to do that. So we are stuck with the noise and the garbage of people. And the noise and the garbage of a person's mind does manifest itself as actions that can harm us.
A person can be motivated to do good as well. I, for example, hold my personal honor in high esteem and will do what I can to protect my integrity because I tie that honor and integrity to my own sense of self worth. I value my honor and integrity and self worth, so I behave in a way that many would define as "good." The cynic might say that he is right, because I am ultimately motivated by selfish interests in maintaining my self worth. But the optimist would say that he is right, because I am motivated to keep my honor and integrity. Who is right?
Comments
You could complain that Douglas Feith was one of the supporters of the Iraq War, but the quote is quite true.
It is an epiphany had by those who have "seen the man behind the curtain", and who have come to understand the illusions, lies, delusions, and self-pleasing fantasies that people invest in so that they can avoid dealing with old age, disease, and death, by convincing themselves that those terrible things are not really real.
The cynical understand all too well how people delude themselves with pleasant fantasies, and then are willing to kill for those fantasies - if not to kill, then at the very least to shun, ostracize, and hate, even their own children, their families, their former friends, and any who dare to challenge or question their treasured solipsistic "beliefs".
The cynical are those who have the courage to say "Wait a minute. This doesn't make any sense. Your theology makes no sense. Your philosophy makes no sense. Your "divinely inspired scripture" makes no sense. This whole world view of yours is madness."
"Yes, well, we are many, and you heretics are few. We will shun you. We will kick you from our families and our communities. We will rage against you, for not sharing and affirming and believing in our fantasy. We will kill you. We will burn you at the stake. We will torture you in any way we can. We hate you. "
"Believe what we believe. Agree with us, or else. Reality is what we say it is. Away with your logic, your instruments of measurement and observation, your experiments, and your insistence on looking for what actually works. Our fantasy is much more important than effectiveness, data, observation, or logic."
I am very cynical. It has nothing to do with thinking myself "smarter" than anyone else. It has to do with repeated observation of how people behave when confronted with facts, logic, and data. It has to do with having been shunned by my own family, having had friends and family turn against me on a dime, when I had the raw, unmitigated gall to say, "Wait a minute. This doesn't make sense. Let's take a closer look at what we're doing here, how we're living here, what we're enforcing "belief in", what we're causing pain and suffering for. This is self-contradictory. You say you love, but you act in hate. Something is wrong. This does not compute. Error, error, error...."
As for the cynicism....I'm living in a country where 45% of the voting population is going to pull the lever for a fascist con-man, and we'll likely only narrowly avoid the disaster by the skin of our teeth. Which essentially means that half the people I'm interacting with on a daily basis are blithering idiots or so blinded by their racism, xenophobia etc that facts and reality don't matter anymore. Cynicism is the only way to stay sane.
I also agree with Belgarath. Much of the fear instilled in people that causes them to act this way is because they are afraid of dying. It's totally natural, I'm afraid of dying too. But then I think to something Roger Ebert wrote not long before he passed. He mentioned that he was perfectly content before he was born, and that he imagined death as the exact same, and that there was nothing on the other side to fear. Wise statements, though the idea of "nothingness" terrifies me, even though I know that's what awaits me and everyone. But I won't feel it, because I will no longer exist. It's a weird thought process. Suffice to say, being afraid of dying is no reason to make other people miserable and destroy the lives of people who are different than you so you feel better in the moment, and that is the main root cause of suffering on this planet.
But I would like to point out that Trump received the nomination at a very special time--when the Republican Party as a whole was (and still is) struggling to find a coherent voice, and virtually every other candidate was either repulsive (Ted Cruz) or at least uninteresting (Jeb Bush) to most Americans. Trump wasn't competing against the best America had to offer.
And once the party did very grudgingly grant him the nomination, Trump received a massive boost--as the Republican nominee, he is simply the default option for many Americans. Though many conservative voices despise him, others are trying to prop him up. Fox portrays Trump very positively, of course, and many folks use Fox as their primary news source. Not everybody sees the same things in Trump that you and I do.
And much of people's affection for Trump is not for who he is--it's for who he is not. He's not a normal politician, and I can't think of a period of our history when normal politicians were less popular. He's not Hillary Clinton, and after decades of scrutiny and multiple investigations, conservative pundits have successfully made her out to be, in the eyes of many people, a Nixonian she-beast of some sort.
45% of Americans aren't bigots or maniacs or idiots. They just believe that Trump--based on what they see and hear about him--is a better choice than Clinton.
You're using a very common and very unfortunate assumption that I see in many places in politics: "I support this because I am in favor of X. They oppose this; therefore they must be against X." In this case: "I oppose Trump because I am against bigotry. They support Trump; therefore they must be in favor of bigotry."
More often, they are simply in favor of Y, and X is just not on their radar. This isn't the only controversy like that. A lot of pro-choice folks say that pro-life people are anti-women, and a lot of pro-life folks say that pro-choice people are anti-Christian. Feminist? Anti-man. MRA? Anti-woman. And on it goes.
I've heard Trump supporters say that they honestly don't like his bigotry. They don't like those things he says. They support him for other reasons--they view him as a successful business, they view him as an outsider, and they view him as tough. I believe he's none of those things, but for his supporters, THOSE are some of the big reasons they like him. Bigotry is a part of it--but only a part.
Polls say 45% of voters say they'd vote for Trump. But polls also say over 60% of Americans dislike him.
And for what it's worth, people developed that impression of Trump pretty quickly, and they did it by listening to his own words. No spin, no interpretation--just him. But Clinton's unfavorability ratings took a long, long time to develop.
Half of our countrymen are not mini Trumps. There's more to this nation than the contest between Hillary and Donald.
As for Hillary.....she is far, far from perfect (I myself was a Bernie supporter). But most of the public's feelings on Hillary Clinton are simply the cumulative effect of 30 years of constant, brutal attacks and propaganda. She's been subjected to the full wrath of the right-wing media apparatus in this country for 3 decades, and the fact that she is even still standing, that she's been a First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State, and on the cusp of being the first female President (while shouldering the burden of being the only bulwark against an honest to god fascist) is impossible not to be impressed by.
Or to put it another way,
"In Gods we trust. All others pay cash."
I think there is nothing wrong at all with being skeptical. There are enough examples of people out there that are out to get whatever they want regardless of what it does to others.
Being cynical is a form of skepticism and "Can" be taking things too far. So it is a fine line.
(Nah, seriously guys...the rest of the world used to laugh at your political situation a few months back, but now we are growing more and more concerned.)
Back to topic: "Cynical is not smart - In fact, it usually betrays a limited intelligence."
I would say it's not a function of intelligence. It's attitude. Smart people can be cynical and below-average people can be cynical. Attitude and world-view. Not intelligence.
Even though I admit smarter people might be more inclined towards seeing the world as it is (pretty cruel and unfair) and tend towards cynicism more than a dumbass who is happy with a pet rock.
Cynical is just bitter tastes.
When I have very low expectations of people, I don't get disappointed. I can only be pleasantly surprised when people in my life occasionally interact with me according to their better natures. Despite the cynicism I use to protect myself from the worst in people, I still cling to a base belief in the potential for goodness and kindness in every human being.
My skepticism protects me from getting hurt and literally being driven mad by crazy ideas. I suffer from bipolar affective disorder, and the crazy religious ideas forced on me in my youth were major triggers for several psychotic episodes requiring hospitalization and strong medication.
When I embraced skepticism, which I define as my refusal to believe anything I can't confirm with controlled testing using my own senses, coupled with my ability to analyze ideas logically to find self-contradictions, I never had another psychotic break, and the constant cycling between suicidal depression and hypomania diminished and became much more manageable.
To outsiders, people who buy into hipster and goth subcultures can appear rather phony, or even ridiculous, as though they were putting on airs and seeing themselves as superior to people who are content to be part of the mainstream.
Sometimes "cynical" just means "hardened by life." That's the most common use of the word as I understand it.
I took your use of the word "cynicism" to mean something that is more personal to me. It's a pretty broad term. So you might attract discussion that was more what you wanted if you could give some more specific examples of what you're getting at.
EDIT: Would the main character in "Catcher in the Rye" perhaps be the classic literary example of an extreme cynic? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Catcher_in_the_Rye
Dictionary definition:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cynical
According to the dictionary definition, it looks like the best synonym would be "distrustful". Looks like it can also mean "extremely selfish".
What a brilliantly researched topic
I am partial to darker shades of humour, whatever that is: sordonic, cynical or ironic I suppose. But not only, and do not obviously insist on it with friends whom do not like that style. Dark humour can be very justly cutting and analytical, at best. To qualify a little more: delightfully subversive humour does not generally punch down.
I tend to assume that "per default" cynical attitude acts as a defensive mechanism, as sort of an insurance againts disappointments of admitting to hope for the better. If it is just a casual way of someone being disagreeable, then of course I do not persist on the acquintance.
Unfortunately, cynical actions in politics and corprorate world tend to be common-place and often advantageous. I am not saying that someone stupid could never be opportunistic and tactically cunning, but it seems intelligence would help to be succesful in it.
Cynicism as a coping mechanism to deep personal disappointment or shock is pretty humane, I find, and probably helpful as long as one shifts gears, and does not get stuck.
I don't mind cynicism particularly as a circumstantial attitude or a passing mood - but I think it has its time and place, and limitations.
Edit: amended my first paragraph to make sure it is explicit I am not in direct agreement with OP statement. Realised original wording could have taken both ways.
For me, being skeptical of something that is as yet unproven is merely good sense. I believe that humanity CAN be positive and uplifting, helpful and generous. However, assuming that someone will selflessly be aware of YOUR circumstance and will act against their own nature simply to help YOU out is a bit if a stretch.
Imagine, if you will, that a politician were suddenly revealed to be corrupt. The idealist is outraged - here is a public servant abusing the public trust, using public money for his own selfish gain. The cynic replies, "Well, what did you expect? All politicians are like that; you need to learn how the world works."
And when this attitude becomes widespread, you can be sure that nothing will be done to solve the problem. If people expect nothing better from their fellow man, than what motivation do they have to actually be better?
There's an old saying - "A thief thinks everyone steals." It's easy to be selfish and immoral when you believe that everyone is also selfish and immoral.
But what I truly loathe is the sort of "snarky cynicism" that suffuses online discussions. You might not be able to clearly articulate what it is, but you'll know it when you see it. A person will make a passionate statement about what they believe, and like clockwork some "cynic" will come out of the woodwork and reduce that person's motives to something selfish and easily discreditable. Is that man standing up for women's rights? He's just a "White Knight" trying to get laid. Is that a woman speaking out against cruelty to animals? She was just traumatisied by seeing Bambi as a child. Did someone say they enjoy listening to classical music? They're just a pretentious knob trying to look smart. Did someone enlist in the military? He couldn't have done it for patriotic reasons, no, he's probably just a loser who couldn't get a real job. And so on and so on.
He basically said that all of us as a group are skeptical, but also somewhat idealists. As we have been over time disappointed in our leadership and various strategies, we have lost belief and become instead cynical. But in fact we are striving to find something to believe in - the original ideal - but are driven to cynical thinking because we cannot find what we are looking for. We do not want to be cynical, but are nonetheless driven to cynicism as a coping mechanism.
I don't believe that if you are cynical it means you are not smart. Doubt in the reasons for human motivation can be a powerful form of protection. In fact, many argue that capitalism is based on the idea that people will always seek to further their own self interests over the interests of others; capitalism takes advantage of that by elevating trying to equally elevate based on personal motivation rather than class or governmental dsignation (although it is far from perfect). That communism doesn't work as well in our society, despite its idealistic soapboxing, is a very strong argument for cynicism.
But, that all being said, I think that distrusting all peoples' motives is a hard way to live. It is important to understand this simple truth: "Every person is doing the very best he or she can to take care of himself or herself." Everyone is like this, from the tyrant to the most holy man, they all want to take care of themselves.
How do people accomplish taking care of themselves? Well, it depends on what is most important to them. We all live in our heads. Some people value their family and loved ones above all else, because they tie that to their own well being. Some people value money and power over all else, because they tie that to their own well being. I truly believe that the majority of people who do horrible things are somehow damaged, in their own individual way that can never be categorized because everyone is perfectly unique.
I believe that what causes a person to be "evil", and thus perform evil actions, starts with their thoughts. Why do people think the way they think? Scholars and philosophers have been arguing that for centuries. But it all boils down to doing the best they can to take care of themselves. Why do they believe that doing certain things will help them take care of themselves? Well, it requires a very twisted mind to come to certain conclusions. Why is someone's mind so twisted? A multitude of reasons, from birth defects to terrible childhood, and ultimately to what a person chooses to bring into their lives.
I believe that if you strip every person of all the noise and garbage that we see on the outside, there is a damaged, lost, hurt, but ultimately precious soul within. Unfortunately, it is impossible for us to do that. So we are stuck with the noise and the garbage of people. And the noise and the garbage of a person's mind does manifest itself as actions that can harm us.
A person can be motivated to do good as well. I, for example, hold my personal honor in high esteem and will do what I can to protect my integrity because I tie that honor and integrity to my own sense of self worth. I value my honor and integrity and self worth, so I behave in a way that many would define as "good." The cynic might say that he is right, because I am ultimately motivated by selfish interests in maintaining my self worth. But the optimist would say that he is right, because I am motivated to keep my honor and integrity. Who is right?
It is just two sides of the same coin.
Oh, and mashedtaters are awesome.