#cynicism
“Cynicism is not a neutral position — and although it asks almost nothing of us, it is highly infectious and unbelievably destructive. In my view, it is the most common and easy of evils.
I know this because much of my early life was spent holding the world and the people in it in contempt. It was a position both seductive and indulgent. The truth is, I was young and had no idea what was coming down the line. I lacked the knowledge, the foresight, the self-awareness. I just didn’t know. It took a devastation to teach me the preciousness of life and the essential goodness of people. It took a devastation to reveal the precariousness of the world, of its very soul, to understand that it was crying out for help. …
Each redemptive or loving act, as small as you like, Valerio, such as reading to your little boy, or showing him a thing you love, or singing him a song, or putting on his shoes, keeps the devil down in the hole. It says the world and its inhabitants have value and are worth defending. It says the world is worth believing in. In time, we come to find that it is so.”
Nick Cave, from his “Red Hand Files” newsletter, which you should sign up for right away
“Cynicism is the only form in which base souls approach honesty.”
—F. Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, §26 (excerpt).
Ahhhh. Just realizing who I want in my life and who can just get the fuck on. I love when people show you their exact intentions. Whether it be actions, words or the lack thereof, I’m discerning more and more every day!! Discerning who is true and who is full of shit. People can think whatever they want about themselves, but more of the time their visions of who they are, particularly in relation to others and the world, is muddied up by their ego image of who they believe themselves to be which is directly invalidated by their actions and words. LOL people can’t handle their precious little image of themselves being torn down by reality. Luckily for me and more so for their sanity, I don’t give a shit to try and convince em. As they say, “do you boo” hahahaha
Currency of Cynics.
I wrote a new essay reflecting on the toxic nature of cynicism and the need for skeptics in the misinformation age. Cynicism is easy. It’s cowardice disguised as wit. It’s choosing not to play rather than risk the sting of defeat. We can and must do better.
https://www.danstalter.com/currency-of-cynics/
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Hey, what if we didn’t use every upcoming Star Wars show to turn established idealistic heroes into apathetic anti-revolutionaries with no hope????
It’s 7:17pm here in Florida and people are already setting off fireworks. Everyone seems to be super excited for 2021. Well, I’m not.
First of all, nothing is going to change when the clock strikes midnight. No one’s carriage is going to turn back into a pumpkin, no one’s dress is going to turn to rags, but no one’s rags are going to turn into an elegant gown, either. People who are struggling are still going to be struggling. The sick will still be the sick and the rich will still be the rich. I’m going into the new year without a job and facing another possible arrest and jail time. I won’t suddenly be surrounded by friends and a partner isn’t going to appear in front of me, like they’ve been there the whole time. My cat won’t come back to life, just like the hundreds of thousands of lives lost to Covid-19. My mother will still hate me, nothing I do will make any more sense than it has before, my obsessions won’t go away, my mood won’t stabilize, and I’ll still be an alcoholic who’s practically drooling for a drink right now.
Maybe I’m just being cynical, which is typical. And maybe 2021 will bring a change in people’s attitudes that will spark some positivity. For me, I don’t think so. I’ll feel as alone and as shitty as ever. Truthfully, I don’t think I felt the brunt of 2020 because not all that much changed for me. Not seeing friends? I barely have any. I only “dated” one person, and that quickly didn’t work out. Not seeing family? I fucking live with them. Losing a job? I didn’t have one to lose. The highlights of my year? Rocket died, I relapsed, got baker acted for a suicide attempt, slashed my arm open with a box cutter just because I wanted to see blood and ended up with a nasty scar, joined an out-patient hospilitization group that kicked me out after 2 weeks, had to self-isolate for Covid symptoms TWICE, pushed people away who wanted to be close to me, relapsed again, got arrested, went to jail, and now have one eye over the back of my shoulder waiting for my next run-in with the police. I feel yet another relapse coming on, maybe tomorrow, cause there’s no way I’m getting out of here tonight without questions being asked. There’s a Zoom AA meeting in 10 minutes, but I just wanna be alone.
People will say that these things are all my fault because I don’t try. If I didn’t try, I’d be fucking dead, and I have days where I wish that were the case. I think my medications are headed in the right direction, but they’re not perfect, and I can’t wake up in the morning. So that’s a problem. There’s always a goddamn problem with meds. Always.
I guess that’s it for me, now. Maybe I’ll suddenly feel festive and put my New Years shirt on. But not right now. Not right now.
Edit: I put on the fucking shirt.
What are we doing?
The earth is spinning
we don’t spin with it
we try to contain it
try to persuade it
we’re going down with it
we don’t even see it
too tired
don’t care
too wired
wanna be a millionaire
too tired
who cares?
fired up
gonna be a billionaire
keep hustling
get that coin
keep bustin ass
you’ll be the one
the earth is dying
think we’ll outlive it
try to forget it
buy the solution
going down with it
don’t want to see it.
Diogenes the Cynic
One of Ancient Greek Philosophy’s more controversial figures, Diogenes should be best remembered for his influence on the philosophy of Cynicism and ultimately the school of Stoicism, however, his accomplishments with regards to those is somewhat overshadowed by his rather bizarre, rude, and crude behaviour whilst living on the streets of Athens.
Diogenes was banished from his home in Sinope for debasement of coins and upon arriving in Athens got rid of his belongings and took to a life a vagrancy, sleeping each night inside a large ceramic jar known as a pithos.
Many described Diogenes’s behaviour as dog-like, particularly his eating of food found in the street and his defecating in public. Diogenes himself admired the dog and believed dogs led honest lives free of the artificiality and hypocrisy of human beings. He would share his scraps with the street dogs who would follow him everywhere. The word ‘cynic’ is actually derived from the Greek work ‘kynikos,’ which means ‘dog-like.’
He was also a fierce detractor of Plato and to show this would attend his lectures only to argue with him or cause annoying distractions by loudly eating snacks through them. He would also masturbate in public.
There are anecdotal tales of Alexander the Great meeting Diogenes. The King, apparently quite thrilled at the opportunity, was taken to see the philosopher whilst he sunned himself on top of the pithos in which he lived. Alexander asked Diogenes if there was anything he could do for him, to which Diogenes responded, “Yes, stand out of my sunlight.”
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A fresh start…Karma always wins
I agree
The reason we feel alienated is because the society is infantile, trivial, and stupid. So the cost of sanity in this society is a certain level of alienation. I grapple with this because I’m a parent. And I think anybody who has children, you come to this realization, you know—what’ll it be? Alienated, cynical intellectual? Or slack-jawed, half-wit consumer of the horseshit being handed down from on high? There is not much choice in there, you see. And we all want our children to be well adjusted; unfortunately, there’s nothing to be well adjusted to!
— Terence McKenna
