Do we get Grumpier and more Cynical as we age?

Do we get grumpier and more cynical as we age, or has the world simply (and swiftly) progressed towards the dumpster fire of some elitist utopian dream?

Let’s be honest, humanity doesn’t actually have the best track record when it comes to upstanding behaviour, so it’s not as if this is a recent thing.

Assholes have been practising their distinct form of bullsh%ttery since the dawn of sentient thought.

And that practice extends to the animal kingdom, too.

So, if we agree that the world was faulty before our births, how can we now justify our later life grumpiness and cynicism as anything other than the ageing process?

I’m not exclusively talking about morality and politics either. I’m also talking about music, entertainment, and culture.

Concerning these things, does…

• Before = Good
• Later life = Sh_t 😁

This post contains speculation and personal opinion. It may also contain adult comedy and sarcasm. It is not advice and is solely for entertainment and informational purposes.

Are things worse today? Government, Banking, and Business

This is a tricky subject to discuss openly, let alone publish something on.

I can’t very well tell you what I really make of the concepts of government, democracy, banking, and business.

I mean, I could let loose, and then immediately sell everything I own, transfer my capital to an offshore account, withdraw it in person and in cash, stuff it into a suitcase, cross the border on foot, create a new identity, fly to a desert island, and then start a new life as a Truther on YouTube, or… and I am leaning this way, I could just encourage you to read between the lines.

Plus, what about my dog?

Question is, are these things any worse than they were before? Before my lifetime? 100 years ago? 300 years ago?

No.

The central power may have had a different name, but its relationship with me would have been the same, if not worse.

So why am I grumpy and cynical about these facts now that I’ve grown older?

-It’s because I can see them more clearly.

As a child, I might have seen some BS and moaned about it, but I didn’t really understand it.

I didn’t see the collusion.

As an adult, I’m very aware of the thinking brain behind a piece of propaganda and that properly irks me.

Are things worse today? Music, Movies, and Entertainment

This is more of the same. But thankfully, a little less hazardous.

Again, there’s no significant difference between how somebody ‘made it’ in the past compared to how they make it today.

And media has always been used to influence the masses. Nothing has changed there.

Of course, when I was younger, a simple love song might have more easily nestled within the confines of my brain, forever serving as a backdrop for future emotional events.

-Perhaps it’s reasonable for that rock song that played en route to my first camping trip to float into consciousness whenever I have a lingering thought about freedom.

But even with this understanding, I’m still dubious of modern musicians.

I’ll state it plainly:

I don’t like modern music.

And I’m aware that old people said the same thing when I was a kid!

Look, I don’t want to get into what music is (an art form that focuses on the vibration of the eardrum/sensations in the body and the emotional connections one makes to sound), whether singers are worse today (they are), or if actors and movies suck today (most do), because I understand it’s all subjective (it’s not), like all art is (it really isn’t).

-It’s a matter of personal opinion, I guess.

But it feels like things have deteriorated in the so-called, Arts.

It feels like the only thing that matters is the ability of the mainstream to promote an artist/movie/book.

If they can market it successfully, it will be a success (financially).

But does that make it good?

My doubting mind thinks not.

But here’s the kicker, it doesn’t matter what you or I think because all that really matters is making more money!

Grumpy Old Cynics

I’ve been a cynic since I realised what’s up back in my twenties.

I think the older you get, the more impatient and more aware you become, therefore making an intellectual challenge of the status quo more likely.

As for the arts, I suspect some of it is also down to the next generation seeking out new sounds and visions, to help distinguish themselves from the last. And in that transition, they forsake the last, who simply don’t enjoy the change.

Years ago, I used to watch a British comedy called, One Foot In The Grave [YouTube](Or this, [YouTube] which is funnier), and at the time I didn’t think I had much in common with its main character, Victor Meldrew.

But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realise how easily one could succumb to that energy.

Thankfully, I’ve learned to avoid the grumpiness, although, I’m pretty sure I could still teach Victor a thing or two about cynicism.

Copyright: oldcynic.com
One Foot In The Grave is a BBC sitcom