The cynics are right nine times out of ten.
Interpretation
This quote suggests that skeptics often have a valid point, most of the time.
H. L. Mencken highlights the tendency of cynics to be accurate in their skepticism, suggesting that critical perspectives are often justified. The implication is that many optimistic viewpoints may overlook important truths revealed through doubt and criticism, therefore encouraging a cautious approach to believing in the positive.
In practice
In a debate about the value of optimism in policymaking.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
Punishment when awarded with due consideration, makes the people devoted to righteousness and to works productive of wealth and enjoyment.
It's not enough to be nice in life. You've got to have nerve.
Meditation is to dive all the way within, beyond thought, to the source of thought and pure consciousness. It enlarges the container, every time you transcend. When you come out, you come out refreshed, filled with energy and enthusiasm for life.
The thing that you think is imperfect about you is the thing that makes you who you are. It separates you from everybody else. I have a scar on my lip, and for years I hated it. But now its become my thing. It's like, without it, I'm not me. You can't be perfect, so enjoy your imperfections. I can't stress that enough.
Well, normally Iβm against big things. I think the world is going to be saved by millions of small things. Too many things can go wrong when they get big.β β Pete Seeger (on how he felt about attending his big 90th birthday bash last year)
If you find out what it is you love to do and give your whole life to it, then there is no contradiction, and in that state your being is your doing.
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