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Are you Cynical?

Is your life Boring rather than Exciting?

Is being cynical the best approach to life? Does it beat being either skeptical or gullible?

Being cynical is a rather negative way to approach life. A cynic focuses on the problems rather than the benefits, sees what could go wrong and says no. He will reject things and experiences he doesn't know about in advance. You can change your life by seeing that, until you have experience, how can you authentically know? Cynicism will steer you clear of what's new and exciting.

The large number of people who don't bother to vote in an election are sometimes seen as cynical. Yet there are obvious reasons for their dissatisfaction with politicians. They agree with Winston Churchill's famous dictum: Democracy is the worst form of government. But they ignore the rest of his explanation: except for all the others!

Politicians Pass More and More Laws

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Cynics see that, no matter who they vote for, it won't make any difference since you'll still have a politician filling the position. Perhaps more people would become involved if a provocative yet thoughtful suggestion to dramatically change your life were implemented.

Here's how to improve the voting system: List None Of The Above as the last name under all the others on the ballot paper. Then if None Of The Above gets a majority of the votes, then nobody fills the position and it's left vacant. Naturally, all those who don't choose to vote for any of the people standing should automatically have their vote counted for None Of The Above.
Politician offering Other People
This takes the somewhat cynical viewpoint that politicians mostly do more harm than good. The cynic sees that they rarely repeal laws, whether they've been found beneficial or harmful. The new laws and regulations passed by politicians and numerous government bureaucrats mostly interfere with your freedom - or benefit the politically connected. But they insist they're all to benefit you.

Yet how can reducing your freedom increase your freedom? Each law and regulation restricts your ability to create the wealth you deserve. The secret of success is to see that many laws - such as the US Patriot Act - actually do little more than take away your freedom. As US Founding Father Benjamin Franklin observed:

"Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."

Can You Know The Law?

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It's been estimated that if you were to spend 8 hours a day every day for the rest of your life just reading all the laws, rules and regulations which apply in the USA, then you wouldn't be able to read them all even once. But ignorance of the law is no excuse!

I've even been given to understand one of the more horrendous laws passed by politicians: apparently government agents are legally allowed to lie to you. You have no legal recourse since they can pretend they are telling the truth as they deliberately mislead you.

Although some politicians may have the best intentions, the problem is that most seem to think that the world would be a better place if everyone were forced to obey their rules. They arrogantly insist that it should be done their way, and pass laws against any other. The real secret of success is to realize the proverb, as well as the song title, is accurate: The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Would Less Laws be an Improvement?

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Many very credible economists, the independent ones, say that to recover, the economy needs more freedom not more laws. The politicians need to repeal the counter-productive and unconstitutional laws and regulations - as well as the outdated and ineffective ones - which curtail your freedom to create wealth.

They pretend that the big banks are too big to fail, which means the taxpayer - that's you - must pay to bail out banks and companies in trouble (think Goldman Sachs, AIG, Freddie Mac, TARP, GM, etc. ... ). Yet if a company gets it wrong, which should you pay for their mistakes? This is just one horrendous example of the economic misinformation most politicians feed you - the long-suffering voter.

Yet politicians continue to pass yet more laws putting evermore power into government hands. They see more laws as the solution to the problems caused by the laws and regulations already on the books.

One of the many major benefits to such repeal would change your life. It would eliminate the government's justification for taking even more of your hard-earned money to pay for the extra bureaucrats!

Are They On Your Side?

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Don't be cynical and don't self sabotage. But do ask yourself if anyone wanting you to follow them is genuinely promoting your best interests, or are they only interested in their own?

The Cato Institute's Dr. James Buchanan won the 1986 Nobel prize in economics for demonstrating that government employees and politicians are equally as venal - mercenary - as everyone else. Professor Buchanan's Public Choice analysis conclusively proved that self-interest is the primary concern of all public servants, just as it is for private citizens. They just pretend otherwise.

Even when someone is on your side, and has your own best interests at heart, it's natural they put their best interests first. Hopefully you'll come not too far after their spouse, their children, their family, and their company. Then there are their friends, their associates and their goals and ambitions...

The secret of success is to ask yourself: How far down your favorite politician's list do you and your interests come?

Food for Thought

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"Effective leadership is not about making speeches or being liked; leadership is defined by results not attributes."

- Peter F. Drucker, 1909-2005, American management consultant, businessman, author

"No man's life liberty or property is safe while the legislature is in session."

- Mark Twain (1835-1910), gifted American author, incisive political outlook

"Cynic, n: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be."

Ambrose Bierce (1842-1913), American journalist, author, editor, brilliant satire

This article was originally published at goarticles.com/article/The-Drawbacks-to-Being-Cynical.-Part-4-in-the-Approach-to-Life-Series/7058042/

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