The Upset Cynics have come out into no-holds-barred attacks against Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. They are coming out in droves! Who would’a thought it!?
Sarah Palin’s folksy ways, winks, smiles, and greetings like “Hi! How’re ya doin’?” are driving the Upset Cynical media people and political consultants for Barak crazy!
Help is needed fast! And I am suggesting that you form a Very Upset Cynics Club right in your neighborhood as soon as possible! By so doing, you can assure all Upset Cynics near you that they can find a place of comfort. It’s the least you can do for them in these angry days before an election!
These Upset Cynics do need help. The warping of their minds and hearts threatens not only their mental health but also their ability to function. They need to get free of that Cynicism disease.
You might help free some Upset Cynics by being your friendly, smiling, folksy-person self. They won’t like you at first, so be ready. Especially if you are smart and happy at the same time. If you are also a woman, well, bring in the medics.
Some years ago, my husband and I thought we would move away from the Washington DC area, where many Upset Cynics live. We thought we would move to a house on the Choptank River in eastern Maryland, east across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
In our search for a house, we met with a real estate agent and were on our way to a new kind of life.
One day we got to talking with our agent about the differences in life east and west of the Bay Bridge. We commented on the friendliness on the eastern side.
“Oh, we hear lots of people talking about the friendliness here,” the agent said, “but you know, there are some strange reactions to our friendliness every now and then.”
Our formerly Cynical Ears perked up. We said: “Tell us more, dear lady.”
“Well,” she continued, “There is a guy who bought a house not far from here. He came from near DC. After he moved in, he called me one day, sounding befuddled. He said that neighbors had brought cookies to his house.
“I asked him what was the problem. He said he wanted to know what the neighbors wanted from him! I told him they just wanted to be good neighbors, and that was their way of welcoming him. Poor fellow! About a year later, I was encouraged to hear that he had begun to relax and to return the friendliness of neighbors.”
We understood that true story’s sad meanings. We knew that the Cynics’ Web had almost got us into its sticky center once.
What this story about the lovely eastern shore of Maryland USA has to do with Sarah Palin is this: The Upset Cynical Ones of the media and of many urban centers have a problem. They cannot help it that they do not understand “Howdy, neighbor,” or free cookies, or a Sarah Palin wink-and-a-smile. They cannot help it, friends.
Be patient with them. Take them some cookies. They will ignore you, but at least you have made an inroad into that diseased territory of Upset Cynicism. At least, you have started a mild relief, even if they do not understand its meaning.
Keep smiling and continuing your usual gentleness. There’s no guarantee that it will work; some Upset Cynics are in the terminal mode of Cynicism. However, some are capable of change. We know. We have been there. We have lived in that terrible Cynical Place.
And why not give them a DVD of a John Wayne western? The Duke, as he was called, would say things like, “Whoa, take ‘er easy there, Pilgrim.” He would calm the angst of hardened people.
All Sarah Palin is doing in her own, inimitable way is sayin’ “Howdy,” reaching out to many up-tight pilgrims. She’s a natural, like Duke, for she is nice, really nice.
My husband and I did not move to the Choptank River. We decided to stay where we were. There’s a lot of rampant Cynicism here, but our place is home to us. It’s nice. We figure that wherever we live maybe some Cynic, longing to leave Cynicism Land, will realize they are not alone.
You see, some nice really is real. Lots of folks across mainland USA, in Hawaii and way up there in Alaska know this. If you ever really, really, doubt it, Pilgrim, just think “Palin,” take a deep breath, and respond to new neighbors’ smiles. You don’t have to become best buddies.
“Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle!”
From “Crosswalk,” by an anonymous writer, seen in the bulletin of St. James Parish, Lothian, Maryland.
Jane Bullard is an American writer whose articles on marriage, family, refugees, politics, government, and writing have appeared in print and Internet publications. Highland Books LTD published her first book, “Not All Roads Lead Home” in 1996 for UK distribution. Opine Publishing LLC issued the US edition in 2004. Jane Bullard wrote the Foreword for “The Mourner’s Comforter” by Charles Haddon Spurgeon, 2007. Both books are available at OpineBooks.com, Barnes & Noble online, and Amazon.com. Jane has edited many books, among them “Exhausted Rapunzel.”
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