Hope asks Cynicism to Chat Again

C: Why do we bother with these discussions?

H: I believe there's always something to be learned from others.

C: So bug someone else then.

H: Fat chance. When you resist, I only get more determined.

C: (frowning) That doesn't sound like you.  I always thought you gave up quite often.

H: You would think that.

C: I just see things clearly.  You're the one with misty eyes.

H: (rolling eyes) Don't give me that nonsense. Optimism isn't a perspective, it's a mind set.

C: Oh that's rich. You're all about perspective!  In fact, your optimism fixates on some distant horizon and foreshortens all the hard work and obstacles that lie in between.  You have no sense or measure of what stands between you and your goals.  I see the magnitudes and the dimensions before me with a critical eye.

H: Critical?  More like hypocritical.  You never see the horizon at all.  You focus on the path instead.  That's why you never actually get anywhere.  I choose - it's a mindset, remember - to believe in the best horizon, but that doesn't mean I overlook the path.  I simply let it temper my outlook rather than overwhelm it.

C: Choice and belief.  Those are always your go-tos.  You see adversity and think you can will it away.  That's your mindset - close off your mind - which is really to say that your perspective is one of limited vision.  I, on the other hand, prefer acceptance and reason.  Adversity happens to us all, there's no stopping it, but at least I grapple with it rationally and refuse to sugarcoat it with free will and unbound trust in some nebulous "better".

H: (laughs) Acceptance and reason!  You don't even realize it, but those are just choice and belief in reverse.  Belief is acceptance, and choice is reason.  The only difference is that one is passive and the other is active.  You passively accept adversity where I actively believe I can overcome it.  I actively choose to look forward where you passively reason about where to go next.  That's pathetic.

C: (sarcastically, mimicking a Southern belle) I, Cynicism, am just a passive person buffeted about by the vagaries of life, and you, Hope, are the real hero actively fighting the good fight. (seriously now)  Where's Practicality?  He'd be laughing his ass off right now.

H: (looking hurt)  Oh, come on!  It's a stretch, to be sure, but I think it's a promising line of argument.

C: You would think that.

H: I give up.  You're just an asshole.