One thing people go through as they age is an elevation of cynicism and general misanthropy. After decades of being disappointed when naive idealism and speculative optimism fail, one can just get down on it all.

It is really hard not to succumb to this. It requires active effort and sometimes even a willful ignorance. "turn a blind eye" is the idiom here. Monty Python's "Always look on the bright side of life" kind of thing.

Mr Rogers said it: look for the helpers. They may be few, but they are there. Find them and focus on them.

Source for Mr Rogers quote:

https://web.archive.org/web/20100125201022/https://www.pbs.o...

‘Fred Rogers often told this story about when he was a boy and would see scary things on the news: "My mother would say to me, 'Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.' To this day, especially in times of 'disaster,' I remember my mother's words, and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers-so many caring people in this world."’

I think that's why historical education is so important (or just liking history as in my case), looked through the lens of history all of the current shit as bad as it is, is really nothing all that new either, the only constant is change after all.

As the aphorism goes: History may not repeat but it sure does rhyme.

> One thing people go through as they age is an elevation of cynicism and general misanthropy. After decades of being disappointed when naive idealism and speculative optimism fail, one can just get down on it all.

It's even sadder when one realizes the world was always that way. The author more-or-less says as much, though they seem to suggest it is amplified. I'm not entirely sure the part about it being more amplified today true. Most of the ills mentioned existed when I was a youth, it simply took different forms and (of course) was spread by means other than the Internet. There never was a chance to get ahead because the cards were always stacked against us.

Apologies for the cynicism.

I'm not sure why we're talking about cynicism all of a sudden. I hope it's not because we're framing this blogger's recognition of existing cynicism, as constituting cynicism in and of itself. Because if so, I would have to disagree, just as I would disagree that talking about racism makes one racist for example.

> One thing people go through as they age is an elevation of cynicism and general misanthropy. After decades of being disappointed when naive idealism and speculative optimism fail, one can just get down on it all. > It is really hard not to succumb to this. It requires active effort and sometimes even a willful ignorance.

I feel this very strongly over the past couple of years. As always, hackernews is full of extremely smart, well read people so I'd really appreciate any good reading material on this so I can better understand it. Tips are appreciated as well (healthy diet and regular exercise, good extended blood labs (think like Function health), good consistent sleeep habits).

I thought it was, become the helper.

If you can’t help, it’s okay to look away.

People sometimes get mad at this, like it’s callous or privileged, but what’s the difference between focusing on problems you can’t help and slowing down to stare at a car wreck?

If you don’t slow down are you being insensitive?

Obviously if you can help it’s different.

Thanks for commenting and acknowledging that it's challenging. My mates and myself have definitely fallen into this. Reminds me of that hackernews post about how doomerism is a siren's song for genZ, forget where it is.

I think this growth in cynicism really depends on where people start from. A lot of people were taught and reinforced a inaccurate model of the world.

When confronted with reality, it can't stand up and the individuals become angry and disengage rather than working with the system as it is.

I know this is painting with a broad brush but I see it basically everywhere I look. One example would be the expectation of a benevolent Authority that manages political and social life. Reality is that it is just messy humans all the way down.

Some people assume that from the beginning and can work with it. Other people just break down with frustration and broken expectations.

I (self-servingly) don't think that cynicism is bad, nor that it would be a good idea to pathologize what is simply a healthy defense to a hostile reality.

It depends on how you wield it.

Cynicism shouldn't cloud your judgement. That's the actually correct point you wanted to make, I think.

The last thing my father said to me before he passed was to keep people looking forward to the future.

It's easy to romanticize the past and it can seem intellectually sophisticated to despair about the future, when in fact the overwhelming evidence is that things have gotten much much better for nearly everyone on just about any objective axis you can pick.

Good luck nurturing a garden, when every day someone tears down a tree inside or robs you of the fruits.