"Here’s a more charitable reading of cynicism: it’s not an intellectual position. It’s an emotional defense mechanism. If you expect the worst, you’ll never be disappointed. If you assume everything is corrupt, you can’t be betrayed.
But this protection comes at a terrible price. The cynic builds emotional armor that also functions as a prison, keeping out not just pain but also possibility, connection, and growth."

I've been struggling with cynicism lately, trying to resist its seductive embrace.

This piece has been helpful -

https://www.joanwestenberg.com/we-dont-need-more-cynics-we-need-more-builders/

We Don't Need More Cynics. We Need More Builders.

Cynicism is the cheap seats. It’s the fast food of intellectual positions. Anyone can point at something and say it’s broken, corrupt, or destined to fail. The real challenge? Building something better. The cynic sees a proposal for change and immediately lists why it won’t work. They’

westenberg.

@bittner Thanks for sharing this.

It’s also a macrocosm of the cybersecurity industry dynamics; it’s MUCH easier to break things and say “Ooo, you missed a spot” to builders, and that’s the side that gets glorified in public. Everyone wants to be red team; nobody wants to be painstaking about defense and meet with the auditors.

@bittner I moved from cynicism to skepticism plus activism. I don't want to be one of the good people who did nothing.
@bittner "If you don't want to leave it, it's a fortress; if you want to leave it, it's a prison"