A quotation from Orwell

Swift falsifies his picture of the world by refusing to see anything in human life except dirt, folly and wickedness, but the part which he abstracts from the whole does exist, and it is something which we all know about while shrinking from mentioning it. Part of our minds — in any normal person it is the dominant part — believes that man is a noble animal and life is worth living: but there is also a sort of inner self which at least intermittently stands aghast at the horror of existence.

George Orwell (1903-1950) English writer [pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair]
Essay (1946-09), “Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver’s Travels,” Polemic, No. 5

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/orwell-george/76060/

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

   All men in whose character there is not an element of hardened baseness must admit the need in our public life of those qualities which we somewhat vaguely group together when we speak of “reform,” and all men of sound mind must also admit the need of efficiency.
   There are, of course, men of such low moral type, or of such ingrained cynicism, that they do not believe in the possibility of making anything better, or do not care to see things better. There are also men who are slightly disordered mentally, or who are cursed with a moral twist which makes them champion reforms less from a desire to do good to others than as a kind of tribute to their own righteousness, for the sake of emphasizing their own superiority. From neither of these classes can we get any real help in the unending struggle for righteousness.
   There remains the great body of the people, including the entire body of those through whom the salvation of the people must ultimately be worked out. All these men combine or seek to combine in varying degrees the quality of striving after the ideal, that is, the quality which makes men reformers, and the quality of so striving through practical methods — the quality which makes men efficient. Both qualities are absolutely essential. The absence of either makes the presence of the other worthless or worse.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901-1909)
Essay (1900-06), “Latitude and Longitude Among Reformers,” The Century Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 2

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/1…

You can add "obeying people who believe they are gatekeepers of knowledge" and then "realising that gatekeepers of knowledge are merely self opinionated with long job titles given to them by friends".

innocence (n.) : a state of permanent optimism, such as believing that when UPS says a package will be delivered between 8am and noon, it will actually be delivered that day, or that when a company announces a change "to serve you better", that they actually intend to try to serve you better.

>>... the most typical character of the age is “the non-conformist conformist:” someone who says what everyone else says while flattering themselves that they are telling a bold truth that no else one has the courage to say. Well, it’s easy to be courageous in a crowd.<<

John Ganz is always worth reading.

https://www.unpopularfront.news/p/cynicism-and-authenticity

One could make people believe the most fantastic statements one day, and trust that if the next day they were given irrefutable proof of their falsehood, they would take refuge in cynicism; instead of deserting the leaders who had lied to them, they would protest that they had known all along that the statement was a lie and would admire the leaders for their superior tactical cleverness.
-- Hannah Arendt (The Origins of Totalitarianism)

#Wisdom #Quotes #HannahArendt #Cynicism #Lies #Politics #Totalitarianism

#Photography #Panorama #WhiteRimTrail #Canyonlands #Utah

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

The man who does nothing cuts the same sordid figure in the pages of history, whether he be cynic, or fop, or voluptuary. There is little use for the being whose tepid soul knows nothing of the great and generous emotion, of the high pride, the stern belief, the lofty enthusiasm, of the men who quell the storm and ride the thunder.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901-1909)
Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/7…

Many people outside the US – especially in Europe – criticize and laugh at Trump’s decision to rename the Golf of Mexico. But many of them have been using the word America as a synonym for the US for decades, even though they know – many of them were taught it in school – that such a use obscures a part of the world’s history – one that may not be so relevant to these people. Same attitude imo

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

A cynical habit of thought and speech, a readiness to criticise work which the critic himself never tries to perform, an intellectual aloofness which will not accept contact with life’s realities — all these are marks, not as the possessor would fain think, of superiority, but of weakness. They mark the men unfit to bear their part manfully in the stern strife of living, who seek, in the affectation of contempt for the achievements of others, to hide from others and from themselves their own weakness.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901-1909)
Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/7…

I was snarky on tumblr, now I am mortified.
I should just... fall on my pen.
#cynicism

After pondering Cynicism a bit, I came across a TED talk about Stoicism. Appropriately, it doesn't have the hyped-up crowds and boosterism of so many TED talks, instead, it's an academic philosopher calmly lecturing on the history of Stoicism and how he thinks it is relevant to modern day. Also appropriate, it was delivered in Athens (but in English)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yhn1Fe8cT0Q

Massimo Pigliucci is becoming one of my favorite philosophers. I first encountered him over 10 years ago when he was working on evolutionary theory. He has a podcast about stoicism, that I'm looking forward to listening to.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stoic-meditations/id1328933559

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

There are many men who feel a kind of twisted pride in cynicism; there are many who confine themselves to criticism of the way others do what they themselves dare not even attempt. There is no more unhealthy being, no man less worthy of respect, than he who either really holds, or feigns to hold, an attitude of sneering disbelief toward all that is great and lofty, whether in achievement or in that noble effort which, even if it fails, comes second to achievement.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901-1909)
Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/7…

The reply from Kilkenny CoCo about the #SlowerSpeedsSaferRoads campaigns says the reduced speed limit applies only to L roads "outside Urban towns" (nice tautology) with the current 80km/h speed limit. No dataset. Of course, we as #OpenStreetMap Ireland (or even Kilkenny) don't have all the L numbers for all the roads in Kilkenny, but I guess that's our problem. #opendata #openstreetmap #cynicism

I just listened to an episode of the Science Quickly podcast (link below has both audio and transcript) and it was very uplifting!

"Can Hopeful Skepticism Replace Harmful Cynicism?"

https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/the-science-of-cynicism-and-the-transformative-psychological-power-of-hope/

A quotation from Teddy Roosevelt

Let the man of learning, the man of lettered leisure, beware of that queer and cheap temptation to pose to himself and to others as the cynic, as the man who has outgrown emotions and beliefs, the man to whom good and evil are as one. The poorest way to face life is to face it with a sneer.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) American politician, statesman, conservationist, writer, US President (1901-1909)

Speech (1910-04-23), “Citizenship in a Republic [The Man in the Arena],” Sorbonne, Paris

Sourcing, notes: wist.info/roosevelt-theodore/7…