There are now two-thirds of the family that more or less tell me I should not bitch so much about cops, politicians, and consorts.

I could not help wonder if I am really that cynical towards authority. Looking at it from the point of view of somebody afraid of what authorities can do if you don’t honor and cherish them, I do see that I might appear rather cynical.

The example I have in mind is a remark that I have made probably more than once when I see some cops pulling over an old lady for some little traffic violation: feeling much safer now that those cops handled another hardened criminal and rid the streets of her!

Lately my son pipes in, in instances like this, with the (true) statement that not all cops are bad. Obviously I want him to be critical of authority – what else would you expect from an anarchistic father? – but do I cause the opposite to occur by making authority a victim of my cynicism?

I actually don’t want to be cynical – it’s supposed to be funny! I know just too well that fighting against somebody or something will only make it stronger. This gain in strength could culminate in actually winning against me, or in succumbing and becoming a martyr. This way it would feed on the sympathy of well-meaning people.

I also know that the only way to rid us of these little tyrants is to ignore them. Just withholding any energy from them – good or bad – because this is what they live on. I believe it was Stefan Molyneux from Freedomain Radio who predicted that the current system will go out with just a whimper. It makes total sense to me that somebody or something parasitic will whither away once the food source is withheld.

Everybody who understands this only has to do one thing – spread the word without falling into the trap of preaching. Say what you have to say and back off. Do not defend your statement or argue for it. Not even cynical remarks of laughter. Just see, say, and move on.

Here is a story that appeared as a “letter the editor” in the Jackson, MS newspaper on August 29, 2009, to practice that on…

Dear  Sirs:

During my last night’s  shift in the ER, I had the pleasure of evaluating a patient with a shiny new gold tooth, multiple elaborate tattoos, a very expensive brand of tennis shoes and a new cellular telephone equipped with her favorite R&B tune for a ringtone. Glancing over the chart, one could not help noticing her payer  status: Medicaid. She smokes more than one costly pack of cigarettes every day and, somehow, still has  money to buy beer.

And our Congress expects me to pay for this woman’s health care? Our nation’s health care crisis is not a shortage of quality hospitals, doctors, or nurses.  It is a crisis of culture – a culture in which it is perfectly acceptable to spend money on vices while refusing to take care of oneself or, heaven forbid, purchase health insurance. A culture that thinks “I can do whatever I want to because someone else will always take care of me”. Life is really not that hard. Most of us reap what we sow.

Don’t  you  agree?

Starner Jones,  MD
Jackson, MS

We can look at this situation with fury and get all worked up about it, or we could just look at it from the far future as an interesting historical deviation from sanity.

And it’s definitely nothing to get cynical about it – so, no more cynicism for me!