Quote for the day -- fashionable impotence
"You can't afford to be cynical. Cynicism is fashionable sometimes. You
see it all over our culture, all over TV; everybody likes just putting
stuff down and being cynical and being negative, and that shows somehow
that you're sophisticated and you're cool. You know what -- cynicism
didn’t put a man on the moon. Cynicism didn’t win women the right to
vote. Cynicism did not get a Civil Rights Act signed. Cynicism has
never won a war. Cynicism has never cured a disease. Cynicism has
never started a business. Cynicism has never fed a young mind."
President Obama, found via Horizons, which has another must-read post on the same theme.
President Obama, found via Horizons, which has another must-read post on the same theme.
posted by Infidel753 at 6:37 AM
2 Comments:
I see this cynicism so often on the right and the far left.
It reminds me of what George Carlin said about cynics:
“Scratch any cynic and you will find a disappointed idealist.”
Stephen Colbert defines it like this:
“Remember, you cannot be both young and wise. Young people who pretend to be wise to the ways of the world are mostly just cynics. Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don’t learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us. Cynics always say no. But saying “yes” begins things. Saying “yes” is how things grow. Saying “yes” leads to knowledge. “Yes” is for young people. So for as long as you have the strength to, say “yes'.”
Either a disappointed idealist or a lazy non-idealist. In my experience, cynicism is most often an excuse to avoid the hard work of actually trying to get anything done.
Post a Comment
<< Home