The Increasing Cynicism of Society: Good or Bad?

I don’t know if this belongs in this forum, or the polling one, but whatever. Not like anyone’s gonna bother with it, anyway.

It goes without saying that, as the years have trudged on and on, society has become more and more cynical. People are more unwilling to trust anyone. Pie-in-the-sky beliefs such as religion and world peace have been lined up against the wall and reduced to swiss cheese. Thanks to the Internet, we can now safely see the darkest, deepest reaches of human depravity 24//7. Pessimism is the new rage, with everyone counting down to the end of humanity and all that. The question is, is this any better than when we were blindly following our leaders and believing everything to be hunky-dory, or have we simply traded one terrible attitude for another?

In before Hades “nothing good happens anymore, that’s why”

Good topic, and the increasing cynicism is merely a more accurate understanding of society. Human nature hasn’t changed that much in the past 50 years or so that the change in attitude you describe has taken place; the same fucked up shit that happens now happened back when people were positive, they just didn’t know about it or acknowledge it.

I’d say religion is still going strong, people have been counting to the end of the world for a long time (easily for the last 2009 years) and people are still blindly following their leaders.

Cynicism is good, unless it self-sabotages you. Diogenes was a swell guy too, not just a smartass.

I could just as easily argue and perceive that cynicism has declined.

That warm fuzzy feeling called optimism tends to get you weird looks these days, if you dare waltz in the streets with a smile on your face. Then again, before anything becomes fashionable, the pioneers to a new thing are seen as freaks.

You want something good done, you do it yourself and start out small. Eventually, people around you will notice the futility of negative thinking and find new purpose for their everyday routine \o/

/neutralgood

Cynicism and pessimism are NOT the same thing; the first refers to not blindly accepting something we are told; the second just thinks everything sucks. Many pessimists, in their own way, are as deluded as idealists. You CAN be cynical and still be happy, if it helps you separate fiction from reality and to get what you want in life.

Are we there yet, so to speak, for all of humanity? No, but we’re getting closer, thanks in part to the internet. Of course, it’s going to be a very rocky road, but assuming those growing pains are signs of the apocalypse is just disingenuous.

OT PS: So Quick Reply is now the default setting for posting?

I think there is too much blind acceptance in our society today for it to be truly cynical.

Did… Did dGalloway really just make a thread on pessimism? Why am I not surprised.

http://agora.rpgclassics.com/showthread.php?31554-List-reasons-why-the-aughts-were-the-worst-goddamn-decade-ever-and-we-d-all-have-be