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Cynics Anonymous
Posted by Tanya
on
12:01 AM
After a long and strenuous day of working, running, and dealing with the usual insanity of the day, I sat down and turned on my favorite comedian, Conan O'Brien. On his final show, he made a surprising comment about young people being cynical. He said it was his least favorite personality trait. The reason this caught my attention was because of my New Year's resolution--to not be so cynical in 2010.
As with most New Year's resolutions, it was a swing and a miss in a record six minutes. I, of course, know my reasons for being cynical, but are there really that many other cynics in the world too? After all, if Conan said there are too many, he must be right. That got me thinking, why are young people so cynical? TV is always hopeful, what with the men objectifying women on shows like Jersey Shore. The music is also great, with lyrics about getting drunk and running away from responsibility. I choose not to buy into these things because they set the disappointed idealist in me on fire. But there must be people who watch it, because they are still airing the show.
I can't help but feel like this generation, my generation, set ourselves up for disappointment. Instead of singing about love, as Frank Sinatra did, we sing about drunken mistakes. Instead of enjoying television programming about overly hopeful, large families like the Bradys, we watch reality TV where the most commonly used words are covered by a beep or a censored bar over their mouths.
Maybe our generation is just spoiled. Maybe nothing will make us happy. Maybe we need to have all of our luxuries stripped of us before we can appreciate the endless opportunities which are presented to us. Boredom has become an epidemic in our society. Instead of remedying our boredom by incorporating fulfilling activities such as volunteering, which might make us grow as human beings, it seems young people would rather hide behind mind altering drugs and alcohol.
I hate to thing that my generation has no hope, but m experience so far hasn't proven this sad theory of mine wrong, yet. But I make it a point to try to put the pessimist in me to rest, impossible though it may seem. Has it worked yet? Well, as I said before, I made it six minutes into the New Year before making a cynical comment about the drunk texts I got minutes before the New Year's ball dropped. Maybe the light has gone out on my New Year's resolution, along with my hopes of becoming an optimist. Whatever the case may be, what is done is done and I can't change the feelings which were lying dormant, a time bomb waiting to explode. The 21st century has surely provided the ammunition needed to unleash it. It's too bad I couldn't have been born into an earlier generation.
I love listening to stories my grandmother tells me about when she was a young woman living in Ukraine, and then later when she came to America. She tells me about the weekend dances she would go to, the way she would dress in a way that was feminine, yet modest and understated, and the way the men would be so chivalrous and respectful when they took her out. I swear I was born in the wrong decade; it scares me how I relate more to my grandmother than to my contemporaries. Things have changed so drastically since then. I wish I could have seen the way people interacted and the state of the world, especially during World War II. I may simply be an old soul. I suppose it's possible I might have just been just as cynical back then as I am now.
In a world of promiscuity, relentless boredom, and fast food, I find solace in books and personal blogs. i have found what can only be described as Cynics Anonymous. It is a place for cynics to vent. I figure if i can't overcome what my friends call my snarky cynicism, I might as well meet other people who think like I do. It's nice to know I'm not alone in my quest for people who have lost faith in the human race.
Our morals as generation Millenials have dropped almost as low as our pants. The quality of our entertainment rivals the quality of the processed Hostess foods we consume. And our ability to communicate is almost as limited as our attention spans.
I can't change people's ways. I can't petition to stop airing the television shows that I find despicable. I can't stop the music that streams over the radio. And I can't make women have respect for themselves. I can only change my state of being. I can read instead of watch TV. I can sing the songs that I wish played on the radio. And I can have respect for myself as a woman. Gandhi once said "Be the change you wish to see in the world". I can be the change I wish to see in the world. Not for anyone else, but for me.
As with most New Year's resolutions, it was a swing and a miss in a record six minutes. I, of course, know my reasons for being cynical, but are there really that many other cynics in the world too? After all, if Conan said there are too many, he must be right. That got me thinking, why are young people so cynical? TV is always hopeful, what with the men objectifying women on shows like Jersey Shore. The music is also great, with lyrics about getting drunk and running away from responsibility. I choose not to buy into these things because they set the disappointed idealist in me on fire. But there must be people who watch it, because they are still airing the show.
I can't help but feel like this generation, my generation, set ourselves up for disappointment. Instead of singing about love, as Frank Sinatra did, we sing about drunken mistakes. Instead of enjoying television programming about overly hopeful, large families like the Bradys, we watch reality TV where the most commonly used words are covered by a beep or a censored bar over their mouths.
Maybe our generation is just spoiled. Maybe nothing will make us happy. Maybe we need to have all of our luxuries stripped of us before we can appreciate the endless opportunities which are presented to us. Boredom has become an epidemic in our society. Instead of remedying our boredom by incorporating fulfilling activities such as volunteering, which might make us grow as human beings, it seems young people would rather hide behind mind altering drugs and alcohol.
I hate to thing that my generation has no hope, but m experience so far hasn't proven this sad theory of mine wrong, yet. But I make it a point to try to put the pessimist in me to rest, impossible though it may seem. Has it worked yet? Well, as I said before, I made it six minutes into the New Year before making a cynical comment about the drunk texts I got minutes before the New Year's ball dropped. Maybe the light has gone out on my New Year's resolution, along with my hopes of becoming an optimist. Whatever the case may be, what is done is done and I can't change the feelings which were lying dormant, a time bomb waiting to explode. The 21st century has surely provided the ammunition needed to unleash it. It's too bad I couldn't have been born into an earlier generation.
I love listening to stories my grandmother tells me about when she was a young woman living in Ukraine, and then later when she came to America. She tells me about the weekend dances she would go to, the way she would dress in a way that was feminine, yet modest and understated, and the way the men would be so chivalrous and respectful when they took her out. I swear I was born in the wrong decade; it scares me how I relate more to my grandmother than to my contemporaries. Things have changed so drastically since then. I wish I could have seen the way people interacted and the state of the world, especially during World War II. I may simply be an old soul. I suppose it's possible I might have just been just as cynical back then as I am now.
In a world of promiscuity, relentless boredom, and fast food, I find solace in books and personal blogs. i have found what can only be described as Cynics Anonymous. It is a place for cynics to vent. I figure if i can't overcome what my friends call my snarky cynicism, I might as well meet other people who think like I do. It's nice to know I'm not alone in my quest for people who have lost faith in the human race.
Our morals as generation Millenials have dropped almost as low as our pants. The quality of our entertainment rivals the quality of the processed Hostess foods we consume. And our ability to communicate is almost as limited as our attention spans.
I can't change people's ways. I can't petition to stop airing the television shows that I find despicable. I can't stop the music that streams over the radio. And I can't make women have respect for themselves. I can only change my state of being. I can read instead of watch TV. I can sing the songs that I wish played on the radio. And I can have respect for myself as a woman. Gandhi once said "Be the change you wish to see in the world". I can be the change I wish to see in the world. Not for anyone else, but for me.
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