Quotes About Cynicism

cynicism enables you to do nothing but feel morally superior to those who are doing something good but imperfect in an imperfect

The British were fatalistic; it was the origin of their cynicism, but it also made them good sharers of misfortune. 'Oh, well, mustn't grumble!

There are no pessimists; there are only realists and liars.

I am very old, very cynical of the world, and I know it all. In short, I am seventeen years old, parking off a dark lane with a married man on an early summer night.

Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.

You can only get your heart broke so many times before you forget how to offer it up at all.

A cheap and easy cynicism rails at everything. The master of the art accomplishes the formidable task of discrimination.

Postmodernism has not overcome the problems of modernism, but only compounded them with a dosis of cynicism, relativism and indifference.

Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.

Some people find fault like there is a reward for it

... motivating people, forcing them to your will, gives you a cynical attitude toward humanity. It degrades everything it touches.

Anonymity is an abused privilege, abused most by people who mistake vitriol for wisdom and cynicism for wit.

The words 'mainly in America' translated to me as 'this is bollocks' and I sat back in my chair with a sigh.

He did not smile. I don't believe in anything, but I'm too much of a gambler not to be affected by a lot of things.

They were so in love with the world, and so disappointed in every aspect of it.

I'm trying to decide if you're hopelessly naïve or I'm a confirmed cynic.

Experience without cynicism was a sure sign your brain had dry-rotted and you hadn't bothered to notice.

In fact, the likeliest reason why so many of us care so little about politics is that modern politicians makes us sad, hurt us deep down in ways that are hard even to name, much less talk about.

My own terror of appearing sentimental is so strong that I've decided to fight against it, some; but the terror is still there. . . . Do you identify with a distaste/fear about sentimentality? Do you agree that, past a certain line, such distaste can turn everything arch and sneering and too ironic? Or do you have your own set of abstract questions to drive yourself nuts with?

Postmodern irony and cynicism's become an end in itself, a measure of hip sophistication and literary savvy. Few artists dare to try to talk about ways of working toward redeeming what's wrong, because they'll look sentimental and naive to all the weary ironists. Irony's gone from liberating to enslaving. There's some great essay somewhere that has a line about irony being the song of the prisoner who's come to love his cage.

shall I spend much of your time pointing out the degree to which televisual values influence the contemporary mood of jaded weltschmerz, self-mocking materialism, blank indifference, and the delusion that cynicism and naïveté are mutually exclusive?

It's like there's some rule that real stuff can only get mentioned if everybody rolls their eyes or laughs in a way that isn't happy.

It's painful to believe that the would-be 'public servants' you're forced to choose between are all phonies whose only real concern is their own care and feeding and who will lie so outrageously and with such a straight face that you know they've just got to believe you're an idiot.

It's painful to believe that the would-be public servants you're forced to choose between are all phonies whose only real concern is their own care and feeding and who will lie so outrageously and with such a straight face that you know they've just got to believe you're an idiot. So who wouldn't yawn and turn away, trade apathy and cynicism for the hurt of getting treated with contempt?