Over the course of many conversations with a good friend I have come not only to realize the often disturbing trend of my own cynicism but also the ingrained cynical attitude of much of America. This manifests itself in a number of ways. Some of them though, you have to search for.
A common way it shows up is in everyday conversations. In the middle of many a talk before the election someone would interject, “Well they are going to put whoever they want in the White House anyway.” Who the “they” are is left unsaid. The same resigned attitude shows up in discussing the current economic crisis. In this setting it is often said that the rich get richer and the poor poorer. It is a timeless addage and unlikely to ever change.
This jaded view of America is far more widespread than you might think. It is also not the property of any lower class or uneducated groups either. It is almost universal. From our literature to our music a cynicism pervades everything. We have learned how the world works, and were not surprised by what we found. We are becoming used to a world in which there are fewer and fewer who are dedicated to doing good for others. There are those remain who do so but they are becoming the exception rather than the rule.
As the newest generation rises there is a jaded edge to them that we have not seen in past groups. They have grown up quickly and cruelly with a knowledge of the world that young people would be better off without. Any cursory scan of the internet would display the terrible things available to them quickly.
It leaves me to wonder if the future can posses the things which were valued in the past. Can honor, virtue, honesty, duty, and culture survive in a world in which youth is jaded by far too much reality far too soon? I wonder.
von Rum
The Daily Rum 