The Contented Cynic---by William Marvel

[indigobusiness]

For all you DUers who scoff at he degenerative force of cynicism.

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Commentary: The Contented Cynic

--The battle between pessimists and optimists: who is right about the world, who is happier, who lives longer. Which are you?
By William Marvel

http://www.interventionmag.com/cms/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=766

<snip>

The more human society expands, the more efficiently it operates to the satisfaction of cynics. In rural cultures, where one’s reputation is a matter of intense personal concern, people tend to act thoughtfully and responsibly. Once the environment broadens sufficiently to admit the taint of anonymity, the creep of animal selfishness infects an increasing proportion of the population. Eventually that unfortunate trait rules the community, just as it explicitly rules the superimposed economy, and that provides the pessimist fertile ground.

The sprawling regional high school offers an excellent example, giving teachers and students alike plenty of room to hide, and it allows administrators abundant opportunity to miss (or disguise) the signs of failure. All the players divide into smaller, self-interested factions, acting more defensively than effectively. Taxpayers seek the cheapest escape from an increasingly futile duty, students learn to slide by on minimum requirements while expecting plenty of rewards, and supervisors show more concern with the sensibilities of under-performing teachers than with the students whose education thereby suffers. That combination piles the odds against any sanguine predictions.

Government follows the same pattern. The state probably serves as the highest possible level of efficient and accountable governance, and it often fails even there. No better vehicle for waste, corruption, and mismanagement could have been invented than the federal bureaucracy, but (thanks largely to the Republican Party that so often pleads for smaller government now) federal authority is the official ruling force in American’s lives. The further consolidation of that authority in the executive branch creates the potential for the most deplorable abuses of power for as long as four years at a time—or even longer, if those abuses are sufficiently bold. The trend not only opens the possibility of an authoritarian regime, but expressly invites it, and therein lies unlimited grounds for foreboding.

<snip>

[struggle4progress]

1. Modern corporations excel at waste, corruption, and mismanagement

[indigobusiness]

2. I guess the cynics around here

weren't impressed.

[Miss Authoritiva]

3. Of napalm, silly putty, and tango lessons.

George Carlin marveled that the species that produced silly putty also produced napalm. That's really all you need to know about humans. I don't know if it's optimism, pessimism, or cynicism, but my motto is: no more napalm, lots more silly putty, and free tango lessons for everybody.

[indigobusiness]

4. I'll sign on to that....

...when is my first tango lesson?