Cynicism is dumb

Nov 06, 2025

We do not talk enough about cynicism.

Not the Twitter kind. Not the meme version. The deeper version. The one that shows up after you have actually seen things. After you have looked behind the curtain, met real darkness, or finally realized the world is not run by clean intentions.

I have seen cynicism only be applied to seeing individuals as self-interested, but I take a broader view of it. Applying it not only to people, but systems and the way the world works in the current moment.

My working definition of cynicism:

thinking poorly of the world, in opposition to optimism.

And here is the tricky part.
The people who think the most often become the most cynical.

People who see through the veil become cynical.
People who run into true evil become cynical.
People who study the forces of evil in the world can end up concluding that it is all bad, nothing matters, people are corrupt.

It feels smart. It feels like insight.

But most of the time, cynicism is dumb.

Not because it is always wrong, but because it is useless.

Why Cynicism Does Not Actually Help

A lot of bad things happen. That part is real.

But what does cynicism do with that information?

It does not change anything.
It is very inefficient.
It is noisy.
It multiplies. Once you start seeing rot, you start seeing it everywhere.

Life Is Pretty Good…

It is easy to say life is good. But, it is harder to show it. So let us compare now with a time people like to romanticize. Ancient Rome.

1. You probably will not die from a random infection.
In Ancient Rome, people could die from a tooth infection or contaminated water. Today you have antibiotics, clean water, soap, and hospitals.

2. You have comfort that emperors did not have.
You have heating, air conditioning, refrigeration, lights, a mattress that does not have fleas, and you can get fruit out of season. Roman elites did not have a fridge. You do.

3. You have rights and legal protections.
Rome had slavery, infanticide, public torture, and your status depended on birth. Today you at least live in a world that recognizes human rights as a concept. Even when imperfect, it is a massive upgrade.

4. You can talk to the entire world from your pocket.
A Roman would wait weeks for news from another city. You can make a video call in seconds. You can learn philosophy, programming, languages, history, all for free.

5. You are safer.
You do not have to worry every day about getting press ganged into a legion, or your village getting sacked. Violent death per capita was higher in premodern societies. Today most people can walk to a store and come back alive.

6. You have more choice.
A Roman was mostly stuck with the class, gender role, and trade they were born into. You can switch careers, move cities, create online income, and choose who to marry.

So when we say, “life is pretty good,” we are not being motivational. We are being historical. You live in the most materially comfortable, medically advanced, and socially flexible period humans have ever had.

This does not cancel out modern problems. It just means cynicism is leaving out half the picture.

The falling bridge analogy

Cynicism is like standing on a bridge that is falling apart and yelling,
“Hey, the bridge is falling.”

Correct.
But, you are pointing the finger at the bridge falling instead of hammering the nail that fixes the bridge.

Cynicism keeps you in spectator mode.
Life rewards builders, not commentators.

The Hidden Cost: Your Peace

The real problem with cynicism is not only that it is unproductive. It is that it robs you of peace.

Once you adopt “everything is bad” as your default lens, you cannot enjoy the parts that are not bad.

You lose:

peace of mind
peace of expectations
the ability to enjoy normal, good, simple things

And yet life is actually pretty good, especially if you train your attention.

The Cure: Gratitude With Awareness

This is not delusional positivity.

I am not saying ignore evil. I am not saying pretend it is fine. I am saying:

Be grateful and optimistic, but stay aware, without letting your mind get noisy.

Hold both truths at once.

Yes, this is happening and it sucks. There is real evil and real brokenness.
And I still have things to be grateful for right now. I still have agency right now.

Gratitude does not erase the darkness. It shrinks it to its proper size.

With gratitude, you get:

peace of mind
peace of expectations
the energy to build

The move

So when cynicism shows up, do this.

Acknowledge the bad.
Name what you can control in the present moment.
Anchor in gratitude.
Do the next small, constructive thing.

Yes, this is happening and it sucks.
But I need to focus on what I can control in the present moment.

That is not naive. That is power.

Seeing clearly is good. Staying cynical is lazy. Gratitude is what lets you see clearly and still build.

-Aaron