There's actual social science research out there that explains that our cynicism...

[Writer]

is a means for us to attain a sense of power over what we can't directly control. We decide to put distance between ourselves and institutions, such as the government and the media, and deride them so that we can once again feel a sense of power over them. This is cynical chic, which is a common (and I think sometimes instinctive) reaction to not being able to see and feel all of the structures that surround us in modernity.

I write this, because I think I see a lot of criticism that's based more on a feeling of powerlessness than on true material actions. I read how Obama is a sell-out, but then I can't yet see the end result of health care reform, the TARP bailout, or any other major initiatives taking place in Washington. The end result hasn't occurred yet, so I think that makes a lot of people antsy and suspicious. They believe that the worst has occurred because that offers him or her a sense of control.

Honestly, I prefer to take a wait and see approach. I don't KNOW if the final health care reform bill will be a "sell out" bill, but I do see that, based on the interest we earned on the TARP bailout, that we are able to fund a jobs program. Isn't that a net benefit BESIDES saving the American financial structure from total collapse? Even the Afghanistan "escalation" hasn't yet shown its finality - do we yet know if Obama will start withdrawing troops when he said he would? Cynicism is a short-cut - a heuristic for public opinion. It's hard to separate ourselves from what is likely an aspect of human nature, but I would hope that more of us would at least stop and consider the illogic therein.

[rockymountaindem]

1. This is probably the best post of the day. I'm willing to buy into that theory

Happy to recommend.

[Clio the Leo]

7. Writer's posts are ALWAYS the best posts of the day....

.... I perk write up when I see them.

[leftstreet]

2. Do you 'see the end result' of unemployment & repressed wages?

:shrug:

[Forkboy]

3. My cynicism doesn't give me a sense of control at all.

It's just acceptance that certain things will follow certain patterns throughout both our own country's history and that of humans in general, and so far it's been a pretty accurate thing for me. Not always, but far more often than not my cynicism is confirmed as being justified. It has nothing to do with giving me a sense of power, though it may for others. And it's not a short cut for me, it's being realistic. When humans start proving me wrong more than they prove me right I'll reconsider.

K&R for an interesting topic.

[Goldstein1984]

22. Wait. Let's give this some thought...

So cynicism is sort of like a religion, giving us a false sense of control over events that we can't control--the religion of Cynicism. And then we can have Orthodox Cynics, and Reformed Cynics, and Born-Again Cynics, and even Acynics. George Carlin would be an Evangelical Cynic.

I think there's plenty to be cynical about. And that belief definitely gives me no sense of control.

[cliffordu]

4. Excellent post. K&R.

[rwheeler31]

5. Thank you

[silverweb]

6. K&R

Well stated. Everything at this point is a work in progress. Like you, I'm waiting to see how things develop in a number of arenas.

I still believe that President Obama is the right man for the job. He can't fix the world by waving a magic wand. He won't govern by decree, like the last administration, in his efforts to heal the nation.

His carefully balanced principled pragmatism is, I believe, likely to achieve the best possible results, and I continue to support him.

[Clio the Leo]

8. Or as I was saying....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItLzdZV004s

[elana i am]

9. K&R

i'll ditto that because this place has gone mental.

common sense? gone!
pragmatism? gone!
intellectual honesty? gone!

i wasn't an obama fan because he's not a progressive, so maybe i have the ability to be impartial, but i see absolutely no difference in candidate obama and president obama. i also see him living up to his campaign promises. he is every bit the moderate, pragmatic, "everyone has a seat at the table" kind of guy he said he was. he even reiterated some of that in his nobel speech.

this widespread disillusionment must be the end result of some kind of mass delusion that obama was gonna get into office and make all our dreams come true.

hell hath no fury like an obama "fangurl" scorned?

[girl gone mad]

10. Actually, the more you know about TARP, the more cynical you'll become.

Just read Simon Johnson, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Dylan Ratigan, Yves Smith, Eliot Spitzer, Matt Taibbi or any of the other excellent reporters and analysts who have covered the topic. Or listen to Economists Nouriel Roubini, James Galbraith, Joseph Stiglitz or Paul Krugman. Or you can read the reports from the TARP Inspector General, Neil Barofsky.

All of these people have scrutinized the program and have said we stand to lose money, but much worse, the moral hazard of writing a blank check to a bunch of fraudsters in the name of re-inflating the consumer debt bubble (which isn't happening, sorry) made it a bad idea.

This is cynicism based in knowledge, not a lack of knowledge. The people I know who are the most cynical about the Wall Street bailouts happen to be traders, economists and hedge fund managers - men and women who know the crisis inside and outside and know fairly precisely what the consequences of rewarding these bad actors and propping up zombie banks will be.

Call me a cynic, but you can't deny that I was right when I warned that the banks would use TARP funds to speculate on stocks and commodities and reward themselves big bonuses, not lend the money or use it to modify existing loans.

[amandabeech]

11. I would add Elizabeth Warren to your list.

There are some dynamite videos out there of her explaining the problems with the TARP.

It may be that cynicism increases as one ages, because the chance of seeing so much sleazy stuff increases.

Once you've seen the President on TV explaining how ketchup should count as a vegetable in children's school lunches, it's hard to be anything BUT cynical.

[Forkboy]

12. Your last line is way too true, and my cynicism definitely took shape during the Reagan years.

Sadly, no one since then has done much to reverse it, at least no one in the public eye.

[Usrename]

15. What is the alternative?

It's extortion, sure, but what would you or Simon Johnson, Andrew Ross Sorkin, Dylan Ratigan, Yves Smith, Eliot Spitzer, Matt Taibbi, Nouriel Roubini, James Galbraith, Joseph Stiglitz or Paul Krugman recommend instead of paying the extortion?

[Zynx]

23. If the choice was a binary one, between TARP and no intervention, TARP was better.

There were better alternatives to TARP, but we didn't exactly have time to engage in a rational comprehensive debate on the subject. That's one thing journalists and academics don't understand. By the way, every time you use the term "blank check" to describe TARP, you lose a lot of credibility.

The window of action in the fall of last year was very narrow. We had to make a decision fast. TARP may not have been the best possible alternative, but it certainly helped avoid a deeper financial crisis. My only real complaint about it to this point is that we didn't properly leverage it to get real reform. That's a fault of the politicians, not the policy design. The policy design worked. We saved banks in the midst of a crisis in which they could not raise private capital on their own (which they really could not do between October and March).

[Hekate]

13. I think I'll drop in here for awhile, LOL. Good OP, plus others. And yes, DU has "gone mental."

:donut:

Hekate

[Undercurrent]

14. Another thought provoking post.

I learn from you Writer. Over the course of a few days after reading your thoughts, and reflecting on what you have written, I find I've learned something about myself, others, and our varied and complex interactions.

Thank you.

[DerekG]

16. What a crock of shit

Never made it to grad school, but I'm smart enough to know when I'm being swindled. So you'll excuse me if I don't take a wait-and-see approach, when dealing with a charlatan who's already shown a talent for bombing brown people and bailing out banksters.

I guess I just love feeling a sense of power over those who completely own us, lock, stock and barrel.

[jgraz]

17. Isn't there also social science research that explains hero worship and and herd mentality?

I believe I read something like that somewhere before.

Funny how only the people noticing the emperor's lack of appropriate attire are the ones who need psychoanalysis.

[mitchum]

27. Didn't you get the memo? Only observations, and not actions, can be cynical

That bratty kid in the crowd just wanted to rain on the parade of the wonderful tailor.

[leveymg]

18. The true cynics are those who run to the Left and rule from the Center Right

You don't seem to understand much about American politics and how Washington works. The most cynical people in America run its institutions.

What we've become are skeptics in response to our cynical leadership.

[Bluenorthwest]

30. Yes, those are more correct terms.

Well stated, and simply. When words are understood well, it is not necessary to use excessive verbiage to sell an idea.

[The2ndWheel]

19. "reaction to not being able to see and feel all of the structures that surround us in modernity."

"We decide to put distance between ourselves and institutions"

If the institutions are distant by necessity in order to function, who has the ability to decide to put distance between themselves and institutions?

[Goldstein1984]

20. A cynic is sometimes just...

a skeptic who has been taking very good notes.

[AllentownJake]

21. I think it is conditioning based on the fact that you are probably 90% right when you are cynical

and 10% right if you are optimistic. The entire human beings pick up on patterns thing.

[Jennicut]

24. The problem is people are supposed to fit in neat little catergories and they don't

I am very cynical of things and need facts to back them up but also wary of coming to conclusions without seeing the big picture. Best post here I have seen in a long time.

[HopeOverFear]

25. Cynical people tell themselves that if they don't hope for anything

they won't be dissapointed when it doesn't happen. But that's a lie. Because they're dissapointed no matter what happens. They are incapable of feeling optimistic about anything.

[Hekate]

28. Bingo

:thumbsup:

[treestar]

32. And incapable of getting anything done

And another reason why the perfect is enemy of the good - when you can't get perfect, you cease to work towards anything at all.

[Armstead]

26. There's a distinction that must be made

I agree with you about cynicism as an excuse for disengagement. It's easier to say "they all suck."

However please do not confuse that form of cynicism with justified criticism or with not being willing to just "take a wait and see approach." That is different than the disengaged cynicism you are referring to.

The passive "wait and see" approach of trusting them is also an excuse for disengagemnent. The extension of it is to let the bastards do whatever they want, because you assume it will work out for the best....Unfortunately, that form of disengagement is why the Democratic Party has gone so far off course. They rely on their base to "just trust us because we are Democrats." That's what made the DLC so powerful. And that's just as responsible for the current mess as Republican conservatism is.

In the 90's, they fed us that crap with NAFTA/"free trade", financial deregulation, welfare reform, telecommunicagtions deregulationm, etc. They were just as bad as republicans, but "we trusted them because they were Democrats." Same thing from the Democrats who went along with Bush on Iraq and other issues.

In so many cases where we sat back and waited for the outcome -- despite what our instincts told us -- we got screwed, society got screwed and the "cynbical" activists who complained and tried to stop them were proven RIGHT.

Their feet need to be held to the fire and they need to be made accountable -- or at least be made aware of our criticisms -- BEFORE they screw us over, not after it's a done deal and we have gotten screwed again.

[Peacetrain]

29. A very well thought out examination of what is going on.. thank you

Sometimes I personally get frustrated because being a cynic is not part of who I am.. or how I deal with issues.. But we all have to be true to ourselves.. and what you say makes a lot of sense..

[treestar]

31. +1 That thread about the TARP bailout

Deserves a whole new dungeon just for that. People apparently like to feel that they are victims. It gives them a sense that their failures belong to someone else.

[mix]

33. And fawning over power...what does the "research" say about that? nt

[freddie mertz]

35. Indeed...

I thought the same thing after reading the OP.

[Odin2005]

34. Maybe it's my mental health issues, but I have intense waves of optimism followed by cynicism.

Obama and/or Congress do something wonderful, and then go on and do something totally pathetic. I'm getting mental whiplash. :crazy: