From Broadway to Boardrooms The Intersection of Business and Entertainment in the USA

A good dosage of cynicism, such as contrarianism, can be beneficial. The full absence of cynicism results in vacuous idealism or even dangerous naivety, which can lead to misinterpretations of political motivations and outcomes. A little cynicism can help you avoid falling to sentimentality.However, cynicism must also be restrained. Excessive cynicism is tedious and counterproductive. The cynic is quick to notice problems, but unable or reluctant to commit to solutions. Their cynicism is a tool for avoiding placing educated wagers on ideas, candidates, or policies that could really help progress. It is always a politics of stasis and snark.Not only did they let the perfect to become the enemy of the good. They even refuse to notice or embrace the positive because it would contradict their cynical narrative that politicians are stupid, lazy, or corrupt, and thus the political system is irreversibly damaged.Yuval Levin has described this perspective as "sophisticated cynicism." The skilled cynic is extremely effective on Twitter, but ultimately ineffective in statecraft. They've chosen the simple but unsatisfying road of detachment and criticism over the imperfect but fulfilling process of compromise and modest development.Another issue with such persistent cynicism in political criticism is that it fails to represent the majority of people. It exhibits an intellectual poise that strives to disconnect from one's fellow citizens and views their primary responsibility as pointing society's problems. Roger Scruton phrased it like this:People who self-identify as intellectuals and thinkers also desire to identify as something other than members of their community. Passing judgment on it. Superior insight and intelligence. As a result, anything regular people do to survive is bound to be criticized. As a result, we have established an intellectual class that, by definition, does not identify with the culture in which it lives. And seeks to create a new identity through its critical stance.

Such a viewpoint is unlikely to gain much 

support among the general people. People can undoubtedly be pessimistic, as recent polls demonstrate. But they aren't cynical. They generally believe that their country and its people are good and decent, and that, while their society is far from perfect—and does face significant challenges—it is not fundamentally flawed.I was thinking about this recently while listening to an episode of Ezra Klein's New York Times podcast featuring Tom Hanks. This is a must-listenKlein began the discussion with the smart (and persuasive) comment that Hanks' tremendous success as an actor is owed in part to his rejection of the cynicism of his social surroundings. Instead, his career has been shaped by a view of American culture that is predicated on the assumption that individuals generally have positive feelings about their society, fellow citizens, and country. He's intuitively realized that, despite the conventional narrative of negativity and polarization, most people are optimistic, patriotic, and even nostalgic.The popular television show America's Got Talent has helped me think about the contrast between academics and the rest of us, which Klein and Hanks explored. The former would probably snicker at the show's overproduced sentimentality, which is full of stories that appear forced, pre-packaged, and deliberately saccharine. However, the latter, including me, simply enjoy good stories.

There is a reason why it has been one of the most popular 

shows on television for numerous years. We prefer positive to negative. We like to believe in something or someone. We do not mind sentimentality. We are drawn to authenticity. We want to feel well.It's the same reason that the Apple show Ted Lasso has been so popular in recent years. When you think about it, the plot is very stupid. It seems unlikely that an American football coach would be engaged to coach professional soccer in London as part of a revenge plan against an ex-spouse. The premise is a little formulaic, and the humor can be corny. However, it is extremely successful precisely because it consciously rejects sophisticated cynicism—it is purposefully anti-cynical—and the public has massively responded.Tom Hanks agreed with Klein's assessment of his personal outlook and how it influenced his profession. As he explained during their conversation:It appears that cynicism has become the default posture for much cultural exchange.But I didn't cave in to a continuing cynicism that said, "It's all corrupt, it's all worthless," because even then, I met individuals who were honest, forgiving, and eager to sit down and talk their differences.

Hanks' message has genuine implications 

for politicians and political commentators. There is certainly a sizable but untapped demand for anti-cynical politics. Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" remains a far more attractive political vision for most people than Donald Trump's "America carnage."In Canada's 2015 election campaign, Justin Trudeau discovered Lasso-like politics. Since then, he's taken a more cynical attitude, emphasizing the negative case against his opponents rather than the positive case for himself and his government. He keeps winning, but only by transforming himself into an uninteresting shadow of his former self. It is a fundamentally unsustainable foundation for political power.A major takeaway here is that Canadian intellectuals should not distance themselves too much from the people and society they criticize. A blend of sentimentality and sincerity remains a compelling political ideal. Tom Hanks may finally understand Canadian voters better than our elected officials or political commentators do.