The Cynic's Sanctuary or How the Cynic's will lead our Revolt!

Politically depressed about our current state of affairs? Finally waking up to the fact that Neither major political party represents you? Figured out that your efforts are wasted? These and many more questions have brought you too the conclusion nothing changes anyway you may turn. A nation of Cynics we are becoming, and how do we change that into positive thinking and working for change! The following is just some very valuable information for us all.

How to keep your cynic’s integrity without making yourself miserable.

Traditional cynicism is a worthy and even noble world-view -- up to a point. We cynics value truth and integrity, so it’s only natural that the ways of the world make us bristle. Furthermore, we’re perfectly justified in our bristling. (Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.) And believe me, traditional cynicism offers multiple benefits to the true believer:

the rare opportunity to live in harmony with your values
freedom from self-deception
immunity against faddish "groupthink"
development of an independent, contrarian mind and spirit
realistic expectations from a less-than-perfect world
self-protection against disappointment (we already know what to expect, don’t we?)
the joy of using irreverent humor to retaliate against our oppressors
So what’s not to like? Well, traditional cynicism has its downside, as you’ve probably come to realize if you’ve been a practitioner for several years. Alienation, depression and pervasive pessimism seem to be the true cynic’s lot. The good doctors have been telling us that all those negative emotions don’t exactly do wonders for our health. In fact, I’ve read that cynics are four times likelier than non-cynics to keel over from heart disease. (Seems unfair, but what else can a cynic expect?)

On top of that, traditional cynicism can blunt our ability to take action. If we believe that all our efforts are predestined to fail in an unfair world, what’s the point of doing anything? Why not just curl up in our dens and hibernate through life?

We cynics shouldn’t resign ourselves to a life lived in the shadows. I don’t want to lead you toward nihilism, despair and premature cardiovascular complaints. We cynics deserve happiness, at least in moderation. We deserve to prosper and prevail. Our stumbling, godforsaken world needs us now more than ever. But here’s the million-dollar question: how do we live more positively without renouncing our integrity?

Let’s look at some existing alternatives to traditional cynicism. We all know people who glide through life on a perpetual wave of optimism and high spirits. Or people who compromise their integrity to survive. Or those who pour all their energy into a single half-demented cause. All these people have found a way of life that works for them (but probably wouldn’t for us). Let’s examine their beliefs and lifestyles.

Realists are generally well-adjusted and successful, because they shun ideals and accept the world as it is. They also tend to be amoral and indifferent to justice. They’ve adapted to society so thoroughly that they’ve lost any connection to archaic concepts like right and wrong. Realists often become effective politicians, lawyers and businesspeople, because they grasp the rules of the game and don’t let ethical considerations stand between them and their goals. I have a grudging respect for realists but I find it hard to like them.

Activists devote their lives, or at least significant chunks of their lives, to an all-consuming cause. Global warming, animal rights, abortion, gun control and racial justice are all important issues, but each of them is only a single piece of the puzzle that is life. Focusing on that one piece to the neglect of all the others is distorted at best and dangerous at worst. Activism is a trap because it can easily lead to obsession or fanaticism. Society needs its activists (just as it needs politicians), but it’s not a lifestyle I recommend to anyone who seeks enlightenment.

Optimists enjoy life because they’ve deluded themselves into believing that everything works out for the best. We cynics know better. Optimism certainly contributes to a sunny view of the universe, and there’s nothing wrong with sunshine. But I have to wonder what happens to optimists who lose a child, for example. I suppose they believe that the child has gone straight to heaven. Such beliefs are pretty, but they require a tremendous suspension of both logic and outrage. Besides, congenitally upbeat people miss out on the deeper beauty that embellishes the cynic’s melancholy view of the world. Great literature and art are rarely produced by optimists.

Stoics shield themselves from disappointment by detaching themselves from results. So what if you’ve spent three years of your life writing a very fine book, only to see it rejected by 37 publishers who would have preferred yet another ghostwritten memoir by yet another millionaire celebrity? The stoic is admirably immune to such slights, while the cynic boils inwardly and heaps infamy on the publishing world. Who is the more enlightened of the two? Probably the stoic. Who is better adjusted? Definitely the stoic. Who is right? Why, the cynic, of course. The publishing world is unfair. Willful indifference to adversity and injustice strikes me as forced and unnatural. The cynic’s outrage may be counterproductive and injurious to his health, but at least he hasn’t cut himself off from his truest instincts.

Skeptics use reason to sift through the vast communal basket of received ideas. Like cynics, they’re quick to spot a fraud and toss it into the dustbin. In fact, intelligent skeptics are indispensable members of society -- almost as valuable as the best cynics. We cynics use skepticism when we evaluate our society’s sacred cows and find them wanting. The difference between a pure skeptic and a pure cynic is the former’s near-total reliance on reason. A skeptic, by his very nature, distrusts the passions. And passionless people rarely have fun or make a mark on the world. Cynics achieve a better balance between reason and emotion; we’re more prone to righteous anger, mockery, outrage and other primal forces that can animate us and move us to action (as long as we’re not crippled by our own negativity). We’re more childlike than the skeptics, for better or worse; we demand fairness and honesty from those around us. A skeptic just wants the facts.

Idealists are what most of us were before we turned into cynics. The true idealist is a passionate believer in virtue, heroism and all of life’s romantic possibilities. We cynics typically look back on our idealistic days with a pang of nostalgia. Many of us would still like to be idealists, but it seems there’s no going back; we’ve already seen too much of the world and its sinister operators. The more benevolent cynics harbor a good deal of affection for idealists; we want to warn them, protect them, and prevent them from falling too hard. We hope life won’t crush their spirits, because idealists are the most vulnerable of all thinking creatures. Unfortunately, idealism has its sinister side as well. It pays to remember that the Bolsheviks and Nazis were idealists, too.

Nihilists don’t believe in anything, of course. You could say that a nihilist is too cynical even to believe in cynicism. It can’t be a pleasant existence, and I strongly urge you not to go there.

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