Miles Jackson wrote:
>
> On Mon, 22 Dec 2003, mike larkin wrote:
>
> > Secular lefties are also more likely to radiate a
> > corrosively cynical attitude (I'm a big offender).
>
Why then do the Roman Catholics, A.M.E. members, Quakers, Mennonites, Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists I've worked with politically over the years all respond to me so warmly? And why do quite a few of the fundamentalists I meet in the depressive support group so often say that I make them feel good about themselves?
Cynicism is indeed contemptible, but as Miles points out it can be attached to many "faiths" (scare quotes in honor of Ken's recent contributions), and it has no necessary connection whatever to various secularisms. A good deal of the "criticism" of u.s. culture and of "The Left" which occurs on this list is merely cynical.
> I don't know if it's sampling bias, but the
> Catholics I know are the most cynical, way more
> than the devout
:-)
> athiests. (No,
> I take that back: lapsed Catholics are the most
> cynical. No contest.)
Agreed. Probably your first suggestion reflects the fact that a goodly number of nominal practising Catholics are lapsed Catholics still in the closet as it were.
Carrol