Maureen Dowd Quotes

I am not an idiot, and I'm not a Pollyanna sort of kumbaya type.

You can't be idealistic in this world and not be crazy.

The more cynical you become, the better off you'll be.

Well, I won't say I'm cynical. I'd say I'm pragmatic.

It's important to not be naive about this world and know that it's not necessarily a good place to be.

Cynic: an idealist whose rose-colored glasses have been removed, snapped in two and stomped into the ground, immediately improving his vision

There's evil in the world, all right. Being aware of it makes you a realist, not a paranoid.

I don't consider myself a cynic. I think of myself as a skeptic and a realist.

Be as decent as you can. Don't believe without evidence. Treat things divine with marked respect — don't have anything to do with them. Do not trust humanity without collateral security; it will play you some scurvy trick. Remember that it hurts no one to be treated as an enemy entitled to respect until he shall prove himself a friend worthy of affection. Cultivate a taste for distasteful truths. And, finally, most important of all, endeavor to see things as they are, not as they ought to be.

People like Bill Maher, who brags about being a cynic, it sickens me. I am the least cynical person I know, and I am very, very skeptical.

I'm capable of looking on the bright side. I just don't do it very often.

I prefer cynical people. Nice guys grow on trees.

I understand the concept of optimism. But I think with me what you get is a lack of cynicism.

We all agree that pessimism is a mark of superior intellect.

Do not let yourself be tainted with a barren skepticism.

Only fools are positive.

As writers and readers, as sinners and citizens, our realism and our aesthetic sense make us wary of crediting the positive note.

I'm a realist.

The world is cynical and sarcastic, but that doesn't mean that that's always the truth.

Idealist: a cynic in the making.

A cynic is a man who looks at the world with a monocle in his mind's eye.

The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.

I'm not interested in 'lovey dovey,' everything is so great in the world. That doesn't interest me at all.

I consider myself a realist.

The problem with Raven is that she's so smart, so sometimes it's hard for her to be hopeful or idealistic, because she's so realistic. So even if she's working on a solution, she's not proud of it until it's concrete.