Cynicism especially in America is entrenched in society to extremes which most people would rather ignore. It is well evident in all spheres of life and presents in public arena especially via communication channels including such as the media.
In recent times the levels of cynicism within the population have increased tremendously. This increase has been associated with change in living conditions and the worsening of the economy. This essay seeks to illustrate that changes have occurred in the way society perceives and addresses certain hardships. To this end, a comparison of cynic trends in past days and today shall be provided.
The popularization of the culture of individuality has resulted in people abandoning their social networks; networks which traditionally helped people understand one another. People can longer trust the motives of their neighbors and any action taken to help someone is received with a lot of suspicion.
This behavior is to a large extent attributed to social reforms as a result of the mishmash of physical circumstances and emerging trends in recent social history. There are increasing numbers of people taking part in more culturally diverse hyperactivity than in the former days. The wish for a better livelihood has become the source of all complications in personal relationships.
Cyberspace has come to provide a compelling route of escape for millions into an imaginary environment in which they can impose some amount of control and order in their lives. In actuality, the transitions in modern life may sometimes appear to have the inner structuring of an unpleasant and totally mindless video game. The conventions of modern society do not allow for communal relations hence deepening the woes of person to neighbor relations.
Political scientists believe that cynicism is the direct result of failed promises, performance and policies. In past days politicians went to campaigns with manifestos that they could actualize. People valued what they said and there was honor in keeping of promises.
As a result, the time when Franklin Roosevelt was president had a lot more positivism and optimism than Bill Clinton’s tenure. With the political bourgeoisie offering empty promises, people are gradually learning to ignore them with some individuals abandoning the process of voting altogether.
In today’s world, cynicism has become a way of validating negativity in society occasioned by distrust to the ruling class. Institutions especially those established by the government have come to bear the brunt of cynicism especially since they have come to be permeated with vices such as corruption and inefficiency.
In the 1960s and before, people were more appreciative of their jobs. The postal services and the department of motor vehicles (DMV) was run by people who considered their jobs important and therefore did them with a lot of zeal. In modern times, people have become more absorbed into the ideology of more money better life.
Jobs which pay less are automatically considered less important and the people who do them are not enthusiastic about going to work. As a result a person seeking services at the DMV today goes there with a lot of cynicism because it is almost the norm that he/she is going to encounter a lot of hostility.
Cynicism in the media has in recent times come to be regarded as the biggest enemy of the public. News in particular has come to receive a huge share cynicism from the public. There is distrust directed particularly to journalists. With the advent of the internet and other faster ways to clarify information have further enhanced this distrust.
People would see something in the news but still go to the internet to confirm it for themselves. In days gone, people were slightly ignorant and the media houses used to take their goodwill towards them for granted. In the modern days people are more inquisitive and it will take more than a few words to convince them on a particular issue.
In modern times there seems to be popularization of a culture of cynicism especially amongst mental health workers. Individuals who support the concept of idealism are immediately seen as naïve and a feeling of hopelessness arises from the overly-optimistic users of agencies designed to handle the issue of mental health instability.
People find it hard to acknowledge the difficulty in whatever they are involved and many would rather ignore the success and failures of their team members. People who deal with mentally challenged patients go into it with a lot of negativity and they almost appear to imply that the condition could be self inflicted.
In conclusion, it is evident that cynicism in society is on an upward spiral. It manifests in politics, media, person-to-person relations and within mental health institutions. Most of the negativity and mistrust has been brought about by the emerging culture of individuality and the decline of the virtue of keeping promises.
The media to some extent fuels most of the cynicism in society by constantly detailing the negative happenings in society and ignoring the positive events that are taking place. It is less likely that this trend of rising cynicism can be reversed because the way society is, people are becoming more and more enlightened and do not take the word of a person for what it is.