You want to bake humanity a cake full of rainbows and butterflies, and occasionally you want to take that same cake and smoosh someone in the face with it. You have smiled at babies and flipped off cab drivers in the same breath.
Basically, you're a cynical optimist — two sides of humanity's coin, half hopeful, half jaded, all confused. We are not exactly a rare breed these days. Part of it is being conditioned in a culture where we are simultaneously encouraged to care a lot about things and then not-so-subtly shamed for caring too much.
Our cynicism is the safety net for our optimism. It's alright to get wet-your-pants excited about something silly, because you're getting excited ironically , guys, not for real , JEEZ. It's a shame, really, but at least we're making some progress. It used to be cool not to care about things at all, and now it's cool to care about things in a jaded way. Hey, maybe by the time we procreate, our kids will be able to enjoy their own unabashed excitement without fear of ridicule!!
Can you imagine?? You see how I cannot help but revert into the comfort of my own sarcasm even as I recognize it?? The cynic is perennially in the position of a guest at a wedding, who has known the bride well and has had her confidence. Theoretically, the bridegroom, beautifully barbered and arrayed and about to embark on the honeymoon, is the happier man.
But the cynic looks forward two weeks. Two months…two years…. I dunno, as a year-old in AOL still charged hourly, I mostly got bitched at for being on the net too much. Looking back to the Source, would one necessarily look at the original Dog, Diogenes, as a pessimist? Or maybe even everything before One day I read an interview with George Carlin on brace yourself, libertarians Salon. Cynical about motives and abilities of average individuals, but optimistic about the natural outcome if governed by market mechanisms.
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Some people are genetically predisposed to be more negative than others. However, pessimism more often develops as a result of external circumstances, such as a bad breakup, job loss, injury, illness, or other trauma. Pessimists also may push their loved ones away just when they need them the most. Optimists generally approach life with a positive outlook, while pessimists tend to expect the worst.
Optimists go into new situations with high expectations, while pessimists keep low expectations to prepare for negative outcomes. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Skip to content Home Essay What is a cynical attitude?
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