The Black Sheep LIVE: Escape the Invisible Epidemic of Cynicism
Salomé's livestream from January 13th, 2025
Cynicism is a major element in some of the political views you may dislike, such as leftism's insistence that everything fits an "oppressor vs oppressed" framework or conservativism's ethos that everything is worse today than in the past. But political ideologies aren't the only vectors of cynicism and our fixation with this manifestation is blinding us to how destructive and fast-growing cynicism is today.
I'm not telling you to "just be happy" though: I'm saying we need to be vastly more conscious of how cynicism spreads and develops. Think of it as reverse-engineering individual and societal decline: start with the end in mind by using cynicism as an alert system for when you're heading down the wrong path. Instead of fusing with a demonstrably dysfunctional mindset by trying to find proof that your cynicism is rational, see cynicism for what it really is: a symptom that something needs to change.
Unfortunately, our culture is at work constructing ideologies that entrench our cynicism and feeding us bad news or anti-social online behavior every time we check a screen.
Join me in this livestream if you want to be part of the real counter-culture: rational optimism.
In this livestream, I'll be:
• Refaming cynicism as a mental and societal virus we should protect ourselves against
• Debunking the false conflation between cynicism and wisdom/intelligence
• Describing different manifestations of cynicism in our culture today and how to spot others
• Breaking down the belief system I use to avoid becoming cynical
• Giving you a much-needed reminder of why you should hold on to hope
• Taking your questions about cynicism and dealing with it
I’ll be live-streaming multiple times a week to keep you in the loop on all things black sheep, from highlighting examples of groupthink to musings on how to live a freer life. You can join my livestreams on YouTube, Rumble, Instagram, and X, generally every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday evening. Your questions and comments are encouraged, so participate on whatever platform works best for you!
David Foster Wallace saw this problem in the 90s. I believe that the clips in this video are from Charlie Rose, and can be viewed in full on Youtube. https://youtu.be/2doZROwdte4?si=mZb2KvZuN4MOThS0
There are other interviews where he criticizes irony and cynicism as well. We need more sincerity and optimism.