Cynical Optimism and Dark Fiction

It's written on my short Twitter bio that I'm a cynical optimist. It popped into my head as something that sounded interesting and paradoxical, and summed up how I felt at the time. I didn't give it that much thought, but it's stuck with me ever since. Is that what I am? Is that even possible? You're probably thinking the descriptor, 'cynical optimist' is an oxymoron, but it's not. Let me explain.

So... I think human beings suck. We're selfish, stupid, greedy, violent, dishonest animals. Our history is a litany of war, oppression, genocide, rape and mass ignorance, occasionally interrupted by beautiful, brilliant starbursts of compassion, intellect, selflessness and genius. As the late great Bill Hick's pointed out, we tend to kill the truth-tellers though, and I don't think that'll change any time soon.

I still say I'm a cynical optimist though, and I'll tell you why; I complain so much because I believe we are capable of change, and because I know that almost everything we think matters in this world is often bullshit.

Money? Bullshit. Patriotism? Bullshit. Politics? Mostly Bullshit. Money doesn't exist. We made it up. Yet it decides our level of suffering in this life by and large, and we allow this. We don't have to. We could decide not to, but so far we haven't. Patriotism. Your country is the best, it's history is glorious? Nope, nope nope. Odds are your country is a cesspool with a shiny tarp thrown over the top. Odds are your history is full of war, oppression, tribalism, superstition, ignorance, state funded murder, religious persecution and, oh, more war. Your history is shit, and even if it wasn't, you had no say in being born here, no say in being born wherever. I'm fond of my thick head of hair, but I put no work into the growing of it. It's in my genes, along with an annoying aversion to diary milk.

Now, politics. Ohhhh boy. I said politics was mostly bullshit, because occasionally you get a Joe Cox or a Bernie Sanders. Cox was killed for her efforts, Sanders shafted by the DNC. Over here we've got the Tories destroying the NHS, driving people into the dirt with their policies, while proclaiming with a straight (but sour) face that they care about mental health and the housing crisis. At this point I should talk about Donald Trump, but if I start I'm afraid I won't be able to stop, and this is already long for a blog post. I think all I'll say is that I loathe everything he stands for and I consider him the physical embodiment of everything bad about America, a country I do genuinely love.

This is all horribly cynical stuff, not very hopeful at all. So, again, how can I possibly be an optimist? Well, because my cynicism about our current state is driven by my optimism about what we as a species (I'm a global citizen, man, and there's only one race, human) are capable of. I believe we can change. We can do better. I believe this whole-heartedly, and that's why I care about all of the above, why I'm so exercised about the state of the planet in 2017. We have the technology and know- how to change the world. We just have to decide to do it. The truth is harsh and scary, but it's necessary to look at it if we're ever going to change. That's why I write dark stories with cores of hope and wonder.

Good fiction is like good coffee; rich, complex, a little bitter, and leaves you energised and buzzing with new ideas.