After weeks of speculation and media hype, the final Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien aired Friday night.
As expected from a show that many felt was cut short, the attitude on the show was a mixture of silliness, visible frustration, and sadness. Conan will likely end up somewhere else when his contract allows in seven months, so some of the sting will be gone soon for him and his fans. But tonight he ended his show with a rather serious plea, and one that might surprise some of his fans. Dead serious, as if a warning, he said:
“All I ask of you is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism- it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.”
Entire careers are made on cynicism, particularity in the comedy business, so O’Brien deserves a lot of credit for this heartfelt moment. Cynicism surrounds us in pop culture, and it’s easy to find. It’s cool to be a cynic, and it’s funny to watch someone rip apart people while questioning their motives. When you see an American Idol singer talk about wanting to change the world or desiring a platinum album, it’s hard not to ridicule and assume that they’ll be forgotten in a few weeks. If you watch House or see Dr. Cox on Scrubs, you know that it’s amusing to watch that middle-aged man grouse about and assume the worst about people. The internet seems to be filled with distrust for The Man (and if you’re still one of those trusting types, a quick Google search should take care of that).
It’s an easy habit to get into, because cynicism is deceptive: you get to look deep, damaged, insightful (at least initially), and wise with minimal effort. Everyone knows there are problems with the world, and those who tend to resort to cynicism are the first to sound the alarm. The entertainment industry is full of cynical people mistaken as the leaders of their generation — not that they have many answers, but they can at least look like they’re in control by wearing sneer and keeping a jaded eye aimed at the world. It’s one of the reasons why you can laugh at a young musician or comedian when they point their finger at the world, but it starts to look sad and pathetic when that same person is sixty years old and still hasn’t discovered a different perspective.
Part of that is because cynicism is easy. It takes little talent to assume the worst about people and things. It’s not that hard to find another way to accuse rich people of being greedy, lawyers of being crooked, women of being manipulative, men of being pigs, or businessmen of being evil. Anyone can do this. Even if you point the finger back at yourself once in awhile, being cynical does nothing to take corrective steps.
One might make the simple retort that the only other option is to be blissfully naive. After Conan’s comments were made on his show I saw blogs and tweets suggesting that he’s simply choosing to be ignorant and his suggestion is impossible. Personally, I think this stems from the idea that the opposite of cynicism is naivete. I believe the opposite is true: cynicism is naivete. It assumes a view of the world that is much simpler than how it really is. When someone suggests that our only options are to be cynical about people or put our heads in the sand, that’s a simplistic, unsophisticated, naive view of reality.
So what are our options? Despite pleas from people like Conan, we know rich people can be greedy, lawyers can be self-centered, and businessmen can be evil. As Christians, how do we combat the desire to give in to this popular mindset?
The first thing is to think about how Jesus looked at people. He talked to an adulterous woman and knew her ugly secrets before she mentioned them. He knew that the innocent sounding questions were sometimes a trap. He knew his closest friends would abandon or disown him and that those who shouted “Hosanna!” would soon call for his death. Still he wept for them all, praying to his Father that those who deserted him at his arrest would be sanctified. In Jesus we see one who is aggressively hopeful when cynicism would be the easiest route.
The second thing is to see that the opposite of cynicism is discernment. When I was younger I took discernment to mean that you could tell what was wrong with the church or a current situation. Discernment meant that you needed to tell people what was wrong with everything. Now I think discernment has as much to do with knowing what is right about people when few others are trying to. If you are finding the good you are being discerning just as much as when you are finding the bad. With learning how to discern comes wisdom, which I believe is also the opposite of cynicism. It’s all about balance, and both the cynical and the blissfully ignorant can lack this.
None of this is easy. It’s not meant to be, although going down the path of wisdom and discernment is far more rewarding than the path of cynicism. As Conan O’Brien brilliantly said, that path doesn’t lead anywhere.
Your own discernment is evident in your argument. I especially liked the description of Jesus’ aggressive hope. It’s not easy to see the best of what people could be, especially when at times, we don’t want to, but He passionately shows us how it’s done, again and again.
Well said. Sometimes I think some people think their spiritual gift is cynicism. (was that a cynical statement?) You’re right that it’s easy, but it’s also that it feels productive, even when it’s actually counter productive. The media, especially partisan media, thrives on it. Where would talk radio be if they had to start offering solutions to the problems they see?
i’m glad carmen pointed me toward this post, justin. you are exactly right about cynicism being naive. and as someone who has adopted a cynical, disaffected attitude too many times, your words are a great challenge.