The Importance of Being Cynical

Some of my recent posts have attracted quite a bit of attention. Thank you to all of you who’ve read the posts and left comments. They are much appreciated.

Amongst the various feedbacks was the comment that I’m a cynic. That accusation, which I can assure you pierced my malevolent soul to its core, provoked a furious burst of cognitive activity in my cranium (which is, as some have so eloquently pointed out, rather lacking in the hair department. My most profound thanks for letting me know as I'd not noticed the follically challenged state of my scalp until those comments were made.)

So, is being a cynic a bad thing? Is a willingness to ask awkward questions or hold contrarian opinions detrimental to the greater good? Basically, is being an awkward cuss of any use to anyone? (I ask this because I get the teensiest smidgen of a vague feeling that some might answer that question with a resounding : “No!”)

I’d like to advance the revolutionary idea that our society needs the gadfly, the awkward cuss, the person who doesn’t care whether they are popular or not. Why? Because they are often the only ones ready to challenge the power of orthodoxy. They are the shakers of the foundations of the status quo. Never willing to accept an answer just because it's the easy option to do so. Not accepting the words of those in power just because they hold a position of authority. (Good journalists, in my opinion, have to be cynics.)

The cynic listens to the words that spill from the mouths of our leaders; political, business or even spiritual, and doubts every syllable. The cynic distrusts the media as he, or she, knows that the media exists to make money not to tell the truth. (Dare I say it? Yes, I will.) The cynic listens to the academics of this world and wonders how much they can be trusted. How biased are their opinions? The cynic is the enemy of the religionists. Daring to publicly doubt the odd and, frankly, insane tenets of any and all religious belief systems. (I must admit to the hobby of religionist baiting – it's great fun – but for some incomprehensible reason they now avoid my front door.)

The cynic is the person who asked about MPs' expenses, demanded to know where Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction actually were and queried the odd correlation between child abuse cases and a certain religious organisation.

Enough. I feel I've proved my point.

I'll end by saying that the cynic doubts everything, questions everything and doesn't hesitate to voice their opinions. If that upsets some people, or even the entire world population, then the true cynic doesn't care. For on the heart of the cynic is inscribed the word: “Why?”

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Please Note: I felt it best, Gentle Readers, to reassure you that the comments that implied I was the victim of sexual abuse as a child are completely baseless. Whilst my childhood was far from perfect it never involved incestuous, or any other type, of sexual abuse. I assume the comments were meant to be pejorative in nature but I think it's more likely to be a case of imagination failure in the insult department. I'd suggest those responsible consult such works as the Blackadder scripts and the written works of Spike Milligan (sadly missed but never forgotten).