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I was reading a really interesting article today by Jeffrey Sachs, an economist I admire. His article talks about the need to recognise the positive work of governments in combating poverty in our world. He suggests it is too easy to get disheartened by the negative news in our world. He states that,
"The point is not merely to make ourselves feel a little better, but rather to confront one of the world’s gravest threats: the widespread pessimism that today’s problems are too big to be solved. Studying the successes gives us the knowledge and confidence to step up our shared efforts to solve today’s great global challenges."
I am prone to cynicism. Even when Sachs' suggests that Australia's and Kevin Rudd's leadership on climate change I found myself scoffing at the weakness of the action. But then I was forced to stop and consider the enormity of the achievement in such a short space of time. I have been joking over the last few weeks that "under Howard we didn't have a climate change problem" (which I did nick from Good News Week). So I think we should stop and look at the positives, even if there is room for improvement.
I think that the questioning of motives and assumptions that lies at the heart of modern cynicism (rather than classical cynicism) is a healthy and needed role. Cynicism combined with pessimism is a toxic mix that is unhealthy for everybody.
I would be interested to hear when a questioning of peoples motives and/or assumptions has been a positive experience for you? I would also be interested to hear when cynicism has been a negative experience.
What I read today:
For me, cynicsim can be quiet a negative experience. I can be prone to negative thought patterns if I let myself and cynicism can feed into this and leave me feeling bitter and hopeless. In my work I can't afford to become to cynical. For the benefit of the people I'm working with and my own mental health I have to see the hope in each person's life and in my ability to journey with them. Offering some hope can help to bring the change for good.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I believe that the questioning of motives and assumptions can be very useful and stop us falling into routine and loosing focus. It keeps us sharp and focussed. For me this happened when I studied some theological subjects. All of a sudden things I took for granted as fact when brought into question and I had to consider why I thought them to be fact. Assumptions that I had were questioned, which was good because often I didn't even realise I had made the assumptions until it was brought to my attention. This was a worthwhile growth period in my faith and allowed me to have greater conviction about what I believed and how to put it into action.
Melissa