At some point, with some topics, even skeptics would become cynical. Wouldn't they?
Somewhere in the last few years, I went from skeptic to cynical when it came to my expectations from hard right leaning conservatives. And to this day, I don't think I'm wrong. By definition, skeptics "are not easily convinced; having doubts or reservations" and cynics have solidly reached a conclusion. For example, they are convinced that human beings are motivated strictly by self-interest. There isn't room for doubts. It is a fact.
Living in a suburb in Central Florida, all I see is the latter. People are motivated by self-interest. Never have I seen someone step up in a self-less manner and do anything that was for the better good, but against their own interest. Even if it appeared that they were making a huge sacrifice on the surface, if you looked hard enough, there was something in it for them. Whether it involved taking more land along their property line from the Association, or a commission from a sale of a house from one of the neighbors, or even a good buy on some form of property that, If you look hard enough, there seems to always be an inducement factor in their good works. Since I'm not the kind to go along to get along, I just shutter myself away from those circles.
Maybe this is the legacy of living in a Capitalist society where the powers that be prefer to apply Libertarian methods, which are allowed to run unfettered, but it just always seems to end the same. People who you thought were good, eventually step across the line and make that decision to take what they feel they're owed.
This is probably why I feel most comfortable with the younger generations and foreigners who haven't yet been exposed to these temptations. For a very short time, I get a chance to feel that connection with people where we can exchange the best of human interaction, and I can walk away without having to look over my shoulder to protect my back. It's a great feeling when it happens.
It's just a simple recognition of the world I live in. I am indeed a cynic. For example, watching Trump bribe his witnesses is no surprise. But if he gets penalized for it, that would be the surprise factor that would test my resolve as a cynic.
I just wonder why it's taking this country so long to figure out that the way this country operates, is the reason why so many of us get marginalized because we're in the way of the ambitious, but stay marginalized by our own choice because there really isn't anything in it for us to fight back.
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