We Do Need Those Scapegoats

Allow me a brief introductory comment.

A skeptic, in this political climate, is a ray of sunshine amid the heavy clouds of cynicism.

A skeptic is not a cynic. A skeptic has a mind open to persuasion. A skeptic wants evidence for views adopted or positions taken. At least a reasonable marshalling of ideas and arguments.

A cynic simply assumes the worst.

A skeptic does not rule out the possibility that the worst may be the case, but the skeptic remains available for evidence to the contrary. In other words, a skeptic aims to discover a viable approach with eyes open wide, with vison not clouded either by sentimentality, which makes unwarranted assumptions based on magical thinking or desired outcomes, or from an opposite dismal view that everything is base and debased.