I could argue, paradoxically, that romantic idealists are actually the true pessimists and the true realists.
Pessimists in that the keen desire for a far better, much different world is produced out of a deep dissatisfaction with the world as it is; a desperation that requires some outlet; a place for the positive feelings that can't be met in the world we actually inhabit.
Realists in that the depiction of the desired society as utopian indicates, consciously or unconsciously, a belief that it isn't really possible. This contrasts with the optimism of those who believe that a desired society can come about through political change, or of those who are sufficiently content with the world as it is not to desire fundamental change.
It is a yearning. It is the best part of us crying out forlornly for a world that matches its goodness. Better for that part to express itself forlornly than for it to resign and perish.
I salute those who have the courage to express this yearning. Such expression embarrasses and antagonises those who have resigned to cynicism. But can there be real joy, deep happiness, in cynicism? I doubt it.
15 comments:
Well put. So do I. Cynicism is so easy. It's just laziness and lack of imagination. Where did that elephant go?
I don't agree. I like cynicism and cynical people. To me, it is just another layer. Another level on which to meet up and play. Another covering to peel off, like a scarf or a sweater, it increases anticipation. If everyone were sappy earnest all the time I don’t think I could take it. Cynicism is distrust and distrust – questioning - is hugely important. It’s also rooted in humour. As with everything, there has to be a balance.
I'd prefer to play and peel away layers of wonder and curiosity than get beneath the caliginous cloak of the cynic.Questioning built on distrust is jaded from the start.I'm not all fluff or earnestness, I want to be as wide and as open as I can be. I think cynicism sucks the warmth out of life and when I close my eyes I see a boot breaking a birdshell.
( sorry about the first time, I spellt caliginous wrong...I may not be a cynic , but I am a pedant when it comes to spelling :) )
'Questioning built on distrust is jaded from the start.I'm not all fluff or earnestness, I want to be as wide and as open as I can be. I think cynicism sucks the warmth out of life.'
yes.
i absolutely have a cynical streak, but it depresses me when cynicality seems to always come first in a person or be their whole sum. it's just draining, imho, and stops one from being open to life. (that wasn't meant to sound hideously judgemental.)
though, like everything, there are degrees. i'm not pollyanna.
(i question a -lot- - i think it's not so often cynicism as curiosity. and though the two can overlap, i don't think they necessarily have to be the same thing.)
whenever people cite the mode of 'i except the worst, so i won't be disappointed' i can understand it, but i also feel it taints one's experience of life. i think it -can- make for a joylessness of experience even if one is pleasantly surprised.
i don't know ... i've very dry so there's absolutely a cynical humour within that. but i wouldn't want it to be the whole sum of me.
/navel-gazes in your box./
Oh, what an interesting debate.
Ani: Thank you for your very thought-provoking comments. Elizabeth Bowen would agree with you.
I think you support my point, in that your embracing of cynicism is a positive attitude to the world as it is, whereas my yearning for something 'better' is a more negative response. I'm happy for cynics to enjoy playing games with each other (yet you often sound unhappy in Down In Me).
Maybe, as a replacement for smoking and non-smoking areas, places such as bars should be divided into cynical and non-cynical sections.
Isabelle: Yes indeed, I'm inclined to agree. I am intrigued by these caliginous cloaks, though, I must say. I wonder if they've got any in the Oxfam Shop at the moment.
Roberta: Thanks. I'm glad you question a lot, as I do. Self-questioning is particularly pertinent, I find. Cynicism can mean scepticism, or it can mean self-seeking. I'm not against the former, as long as it isn't too aggressive or defensive (and there is a bit too much of it these days, isn't there?). There's an uncertain degree of irony in much of what I say; yet I hope it's not a sneering irony, but a benign acknowledgment of life's limitations. The aspiration to uncynical joy remains in me.
Paul: Thanks indeed. I appreciate your concern for the elephant. I hope she's alright, but I did see a coach-load of cynical people heading towards the zoo, in their caliginous cloaks.
This is the life, debating cynicism on a sunny afternoon with lovely ladies, and a bloke from Australia.
ha! It's sunny here too....a lovely day for farm work.
(I do have a caliginous cloak in the shop as a matter of fact although it's rather moth eaten and musty, I think it was last worn by a Cynic circa 1897)
And that's when I truly question my worth as a writer. The last line in which I called for balance seems to have flown under everyone's radars.
You're right, I am often unhappy, Drodbar. I think that anyone who isn't unhappy a good deal of the time is faking or deluded. Is that cynical?
hello Ani, no , I don't think that's cynical, I think that's just life.
Perhaps I was being too rigid about my interpretation of cynical, but for me it holds negative connotations rather than questioning ones.
I think there is too much emphasis on being *happy* anyway, but a lot of the time when I'm unhappy is precisely because I'm not cynical.If that makes sense.
( sorry about the rambling Drodbar,I hope it's ok to reply, when it's not even my blog)
Ah, believing that everyone who doesn't think or feel the same way as you do is 'faking or deluded'. A nicely honed superiority complex you have going there Ani.
I got onto the subject of feeling depressed and (i was a dramatic youth) contemplating death etc and she said she had never - in her life - ever even thought about being dead.
It was anathema to her (she didn't actually use the word anathema - she just gave me that 'you are a very strange person' look).
It boggled me. I thought that was just part of growing up?
Isabelle: The more moth-eaten and musty the cloak, the more caliginous it is, I hear. Apparently designer caliginous cloaks now come with readymade moth-holes and artificial musty odours.
Ani: Please don't question your worth as a writer: I think you're the bee's knees. Your opening comments about cynicism were very well-put and interesting, which is why I focused on them. I'm sorry I made that reference to unhappiness in Down In Me: I agree about the general prevalence of unhappiness.
Isabelle again: Yes indeed.
Mad Cat Lady: Very interesting exchange, all the better for the intriguing lack of context.
Anyway, lets all go to the pub.
(Great, I am late again...)
Sometimes i wonder whether you are my conscience.
Jinjir Minjir: One is never too late for Solipsist In Exile.
Thank you for your very flattering comment. If I am a conscience to you, then what does that make you in relation to me, I wonder?
I guess the opposite: a bored, hyperactive, grown-up kid.
Jinjir: I'm very happy for you to be my one of those.
In fact, I consider it an honour.
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