My granddaughter Cynthia posted a quote on Facebook:
“Cynicism doesn’t cause inaction. The desire for inaction causes cynicism. And so you fight to defend your cynicism tooth and nail.” –David Wong
I responded as follows:
I am not sure I understand the statement. I think cynicism is based on the belief that my actions won’t make much difference. It is only some kind of blind faith that keeps me acting on my convictions, as though my actions matter whether they achieve the outcome for which I hope or not. So one can be cynical and still act. Or, as the statement suggests, cynicism can lead to inaction, which is an action in itself.
Cynthia likes to throw controversial ideas out on her blog and Facebook, so I would guess she would not mind if I throw some controversy back at her, But being her grandmother, I am always a little trepid when I write a response to her. I wonder what her friends think. Once in a while someone responds to my response which is great fun for me. I imagine myself sitting in a room of her college friends “shooting the bull” as they say. In her case we’d probably be drinking coffee and eating Cheetoes, both to my liking.
Cynthia tells me that she is okay with me responding to what she writes, but I don’t know if any of my grandchildren think that they can be totally honest with me. My granddaughter Emma recently made a sassy-pants comment recently when she didn’t like something I said and it shocked her mother…but I felt honored. Addendum: she was laughing so I knew she was teasing, but I also knew that she was making a point, which I got – I’d crossed a boundary.
I is left hanging.