Cynicism

Lily Tomlin or one of her characters once said, “No matter how cynical you get, it’s never enough to keep up.” I thought this was hilarious when I heard it and have quoted it occasionally. But the mirth in it has become less and I’ve come to take it far too seriously. Today I spent some time reading the current “Persons of the Year” issue of Time magazine (Dec. 26, 2005/Jan. 2, 2006). The cover stories are about Bono of U2 fame and Bill and Melinda Gates and their efforts to do something about world poverty and disease. The richest couple in the world and the biggest rock star in the world would seem to have promise of great fodder for cynicism. But what they are doing with what are arguably the greatest instances of wealth and fame that the world has ever seen quenches my cynical heart. Another story in the issue is about the unlikely pairing of former presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton in efforts to garner aid for tsunami victims and for hurricane Katrina relief. The story tells of the sincere friendship that has developed between these two former political arch enemies. Again, the story took the wind right out of my cynical sails and gave me a little warm feeling deep inside to see the picture of these two smiling men sitting on Bush’s boat enjoying the day and each other’s company. The picture is not one of a powerful democrat and a powerful republican, but of two Americans. This is a picture the rest of the world needs to see. That there are things we hold dear in this country that transcend our politics.

My personal cynicism has been festering. I have always struggled with being on the negative side – a half-empty glass kind of person. It is onerous to those close enough to me to see it (I can be good at hiding it in public when I put my mind to it.) Now it is becoming really onerous to me as well. I’m sick of it. There is too much beauty and wonder in this world God has given us to live in and life is too short to waste it on complaining and bitterness. I have never been one to make New Year’s resolutions to be promptly forgotten. I hadn’t given it a thought this year either. But I have one now. I’m attempting to keep my mouth shut when my knee jerk reaction is negativity and to make a conscious effort to say positive words instead. Maybe there is hope that my mouth can help reprogram my heart. Norman Vincent Peale, maybe you had it right.