Cynicism, a view that all people are motivated solely by self-interest, is not unlike a virus. It’s a contagion that spreads and weakens its victims. But unlike most illnesses, people often welcome it into their households. After all, those who think the worst of others are seldom disappointed. Cynics won’t be conned by the crooked. Not because they can spot a con artist with any certainty but because they can’t perceive an innocent. They see everyone on the take, everyone gaming the system, everyone unmoved by the plight of their neighbors. And for many, this lack of optimism brings a sense of smug superiority that they are realists and everyone else is a dupe. But it also brings one other thing: An absence of hope.
Recently, this newspaper, along with the University of Baltimore and public radio station WYPR, polled city residents. Much of the attention was given the mayoral race, as well it should. These are difficult times for Baltimore and much will be expected of the next mayor and City Council. People are naturally curious to get a feel for public opinion. But there was another question asked that should give everyone pause. The pollsters asked about former mayor Catherine Pugh who was sentenced last week to three years in prison for her role in a fraudulent scheme involving her “Healthy Holly” children’s book. Here’s the exact question: “Is what former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh did worse than what other elected officials do, or do a lot of them do similar things but just don’t get caught?”
And here’s how Baltimore residents (contacted, incidentally, during the week surrounding her sentencing) responded: 24% said her behavior was “worse than others." Sixty-seven percent — more than two-thirds of those contacted — had the opposite view, agreeing with the statement that “a lot of them do similar things.” Just 9% weren’t sure how to judge her.
Now, perhaps there’s what experts call a “demand” quality in that question, an implication that the respondent is supposed to agree with the phrase, “a lot of them do similar things.” We know that on talk radio, or Twitter or similar forums of outrage, describing all politicians as corrupt is standard operating procedure. Do they mean it, or is it just a punch line? Sometimes, it’s hard to tell. But this isn’t that. These are random individuals expressing a view within days of witnessing their former mayor get significant prison time. Do they not think justice was done? Or do they believe Ms. Pugh simply had the misfortune of getting caught? There’s quite a difference.
People often have low opinions of politicians. That’s fairly typical. A lot of folks have pretty low opinions of journalists, too. Especially when the nation’s president brands them the “enemy of the people.” But there’s something worrisome in this particular exercise of cynicism. Instead of seeing a corrupt former mayor’s punishment as an example of how the system (journalistic and judicial) works, they are perhaps seeing it as the exception that proves the rule that everyone is corrupt. In deciding Ms. Pugh’s fate, U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow called the mayor’s crimes “astounding.” Apparently, most people don’t believe that.
Here’s why that matters. Baltimore faces myriad problems. They include violent crime, concentrated poverty, low-performing schools, lack of opportunity, crumbling infrastructure, a shrinking population and on and on. How can such challenges possibly be overcome if the public can’t rally behind a leader or leaders who offer hope? Indeed, how can there be hope or any expectation of a path forward if the assumption is that the mayor or council members are just acting in their own self-interest? What about your interest? What about our interest? The cowardly cynic can’t perceive hope.
Of course, maybe the whole concept of hope is just another political commodity. Bill Clinton campaigned on it — before he lied under oath to a federal grand jury. President Donald Trump has made more than 16,241 false or misleading statements in office. We would never counsel anyone to put absolute trust in any human being short of a deity. But at some level what makes the heroic possible is a little bit of faith. A little trust. A little belief in a better future. We have seen our share of politicians across the years. Some were trustworthy, some were not. Netting more than $850,000 from a sloppy self-published children’s book foisted on the University of Maryland Medical System and others is not some minor indiscretion. Don’t fall for the “everyone does it" line, Baltimore, because a brighter future isn’t possible when people believe there is no such thing.