I think cynicism is a natural response to growing up and learning that half the crap your parents taught you and a good part of what you learned in school wasn’t accurate. You know, there is no Tooth Fairy or Santa Claus. George Washington didn’t walk on water. The Gulf of Tonkin incident was bullshit.

But, I think you have to take it to the next level. Once you’ve learned enough to earn your cynicism, you have to outgrow it and learn to believe in things again. That’s a maturation process, and some people never get there. They get stuck on the phoniness of everything. They see how the same bad actors keep prevailing time after time, and how our country seems to make the same kind of mistakes with disturbing regularity.

But cynics who check out because “what’s the point?” never accomplish anything. Maybe politics ain’t your bag. It’s too dirty. It’s too filled with lies. The truly good guys don’t have a chance. If that’s how you feel, then the best thing to do is stop paying attention to politics and find some way to do some good in your own little corner of the world. But, you can only make that decision because deep down you know that others will carry out the fight for you. Your side, your values, may not prevail, but some people will continue fighting for them. And, to turn around and mock them for believing, is a luxury for the smug and obnoxious.

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