song for theme #36A: Cynicism

“Cynicism Grows” by Stephen P. Cook

to be sung to the tune of “Anything Goes” by Cole Porter / Frank Sinatra

The bad guy killers on nine eleven

Died dreaming of going to heaven

Almighty God knows

Cynicism grows!

Staying married ‘til death do you part

Maybe, for a newly wed old fart

So will you propose?

Cynicism grows!

Corporate cats sit on trillions in cash¹

And escape taxes² that dog my ass

Smelling like a rose

Cynicism grows!

The world’s eighty five billionaires

Own more than three billion sucking air³

Few highs lots of lows

Cynicism grows!

Hunger brings a shoplifting spree

Now prison in the land of the free

Wearing new clothes

Cynicism grows!

Young black males often rule

More likely in prison than in school⁴

Raw deal jim crows

Cynicism grows!

What’s growing faster than government spending?

Regulations—they’re never ending!

Pages and pages of prose

Cynicism grows!

Those who know say burning coal is bad

And climate change can make us sad

We can’t say whoa!

Cynicism grows!

Millions die in war’s deadly fires

Who’s to blame? Thieves⁵and liars!

Give peace a chance foes

Cynicism grows!

SONG—NOTES / COMMENTS

1—As of early 2014, estimates were $5 trillion to $7 trillion for US companies. Invested in putting people to work at $70,000/yr

     per job, the latter figure would fund ten million pretty good USA jobs for ten years!

2—According to a 2013 study by US PIRG, “By booking profits to subsidiaries registered in [offshore] tax havens, multinational

     corporations are able to avoid an estimated $90 billion in federal income taxes each year. These subsidiaries are often shell

     companies with few, if any employees, and engage in little to no real business activity.”

3— A 2014 Oxfam report said the world’s 85 richest people owned as much wealth as its 3.5 billion poorest!

4—Although frequently cited, this is an exaggeration. According to Howard University professor Ivory Toldson, as of April 2013,

     there are 1.4 million US black men in college and 840,000 black men in prison.

5—Many recent wars in Africa can be traced to kleptocracy–where government ruler (or rulers) loot the national treasury and

     extend personal wealth to the detriment of the people they are supposed to be serving.

Comment: this theme has value as emotional armor in protecting yourself from attacks on your own failings and hurt due to others’ failings. Rather than assign blame, you accept that human nature is imperfect and emotionally move on. Unfortunately many cynics embrace something not so healthy: a pessimistic attitude that fully expects (and perhaps even encourages?) bad outcomes. Those lead to more stress and a tendency to withdraw, avoid, deny—rather than employing more engaged, adaptive or constructive coping strategies.