Cynicism vs. skepticism

The best distinction between cynicism and skepticism I’ve heard came from Terry Anderson, the former Middle East Associated Press bureau chief who had been held hostage in Lebanon from 1985 to 1991.

When I was a journalism professor in California, I got to watch Terry address a conference of student journalists in Fresno in the mid-90s.  At one point, he asked the students if they understood the difference between skepticism and cynicism.

As he explained it:

A skeptic would say, “Is that true? Show me.”

A cynic would say, “Don’t bother showing me. I already know you’re lying.”

Skepticism is healthy. It is how the best reporters function. It operates on doubt but with an open mind. You wait until you have the evidence before making a conclusion.

Cynicism is not healthy. It assumes the worst of others and forms opinions before the facts are in. And when facts do come in, it twists those facts to fit the opinion.

Unfortunately, too much of our politics is driven by cynicism than skepticism.

Thought of the day

At one door, the voter I was trying to reach wasn't home. When I told the man who answered what I was doing and that I was a Democrat he said, "That's not good."
"It's called Democracy dude," I said, a bit surprised I spit it out that way.
But it should be seen as a good thing when you come across someone with a different political view. If we lived in a country where everyone had the same opinion -- or HAD to -- then we'd be in trouble.

In this day, technology has allowed us to develop our opinions in an echo chamber. We are then free to project our worst fears on anyone who disagrees with us.
But when you come across someone of an opposing view, take a moment and say to yourself, "Ah, good, democracy lives."

My evolution of thought

This blog began in December 2007 mostly as a way to keep a diary of my thoughts on politics, science, history, religion, philosophy and other topics that interested me. For the first couple of years, the blog was not public because I was still employed as a journalist.

As I read through it, I can see my evolution of thought, and when it comes to the role of government this is how I'd summarize where I am at today:

Government must be run efficiently. Some would say that government should be run like a business, but I don't agree with that analogy. Government is more than a business.

Here's the difference: If a business loses customers, that business is free to retool itself and seek out new customers and markets. They can write off those old customers and move on.

Government can never write off its customers. A government will always have the same customers -- its constituents, who are the customers AND the employers of the government.

Here's some snippets from a couple of posts from 2010, which also helped form my thinking:

October 21, 2010

October 28, 2010