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Cynicism

October 09, 2009

Posted by Wallace+

Last week Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a senator from South Carolina, said of Glenn Beck, that he is "not aligned with any party as far as I can tell. He's aligned with cynicism. And there's always been a market for cynicism."

Graham went on to say, "But we became a great nation not because we are a nation of cynics. We became a great nation because we are a nation of believers."

Graham's commentary led me into some reflection on cynicism over the last week. It would be hard for me to overstate the viscerally negative reaction I experience when faced with cynicism. To my mind, cynicism is one of the most destructive forces in the cosmos. The phrase "the power of Darkness" comes to mind. If that sounds earnest, it is. May God deliver us.

In the midst of these reflections, over the last few days, as serendipity would have it, I then came across "Ben," a poem by David Budbill. I recommend it highly.

(Brace yourself. And read it at least twice.)

 

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Next entry: Ben (Cynicism, Part II)

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On any given day, there are those things that would get our attention; those things that would bring fresh perspective; those things would remind us of what is most important, what is most true. If, that is, if we but notice. We never know when those things, those experiences, those people might come. And so it has always been, so it has always been.

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The Rule of 72, they call it.  It’s a rule of thumb to figure how long it’ll take to double your money. If you know you can get 5%, on your investment, then you divide 5 into 72 and that tells you: it’ll take roughly 14 and ½ years to double your money. That’s the Rule of 72. Now, sometimes an investor doesn’t want to wait 14 and a ½ years, or however long the Rule of 72 tells you that you have to wait and so increased risks are taken. And sometimes you win, and sometimes you loose.

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We all want, in the words of St. Paul, to “lead a life worthy of God.” A life worthy of God. Un-like the lives of the false prophets, of Micah’s day, or the false teachers of Jesus’ day, the scribes and the Pharisees, teachers of the law. Their lives are un-worthy of God, we are told, in no uncertain terms. In their hypocrisy, they serve, not God, not God’s people, but themselves.

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