MY FRIEND TEAL recently accused me of “unrelenting cynicism and lamentation.” (see her comment on my Mencken post, whom she professes to like, which tells me she secretly recognizes the benefits of both cynicism and lamentation). Upon brief reflection, I have realized that in the natural order of things, I must now proceed to arraignment on the charge.
I PLEAD GUILTY.
I waive my right to an attorney and waive my right to a trial. Just give me a chance to address the court and then, sentence me as you will.
A cynic is defined as a person who believes that people are motivated purely by self-interest rather than acting for honorable or unselfish reasons. Permit me to point out that, as H. L. Mencken himself once said, “The cynics are right nine times out of ten.” Years later, the great Lily Tomlin added: “No matter how cynical you get, it is impossible to keep up.”
Actually, it occurs to me now that Teal has charged me in a 2-count indictment: Count One would be cynicism. Count Two is the lamentation.
Lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, sorrow, or disappointment. I’m not sure if she means this as a failure of character or more of an inept or inappropriate means of communication. In any event, I plead guilty to this count as well since I assume it is my communication choice rather than my essential character which puts her off. I do, after all, blog comically on occasion. But I fully admit to suffering from the grief of seeing how George W. Bush damaged this country; I likewise admit to feeling sorrow over all the innocent lives lost unnecessarily; and my disappointment at being unable to affect it all in any real way is palpable.
I suspect that Mencken and I arrived at a similar point in life – the point of cynicism – in different ways. He was a lot smarter than I am and was a cynic at a much younger age than me. My own perspective grew from having to observe the worst in the human animal day after day, year after year, in my professional capacity. Perhaps, in the newspaper business, Mencken did too. But this is how I came to believe H. Allen Smith was correct when he said: “When there are two conflicting versions of a story, the wise course is to believe the one in which people appear at their worst.”
Even with all this, I think of myself as a glass-half-filled person. I am aware that my sense of humor is my abiding life buoy.
But Teal, it’s just going to get worse. I’ve got two more collections of Mencken’s writings to read. :)