Sarcastic

My brother-in-law has honed his sarcasm to a sharp edge and uses it frequently. He thinks it makes him seem smart in the social circles he inhabits. I do not like it.

A healthy dose of skepticism is a useful attitude. We shouldn’t believe everything we hear. Cynicism adds the veneer that we are probably being lied to. I can accept that most of the time, because, after all, everyone does have motives.

But sarcasm is a holier than thou attitude. It implies that I am not only wrong, but ignorantly and stupidly wrong. Sure “things will be fine”, the “doctor knows what he is doing”, intimations of the exact opposite. Beyond pessimism into a kind of bitter knowledge of how the speaker knows the world really works.

And that’s the rub. Because a lot of sarcastic people including, at times, my brother-in-law, don’t know what they are talking about. Not only are they ignorant, but also willfully, proudly, arrogantly ignorant. And they truly believe that biting sarcasm makes them seem clever and important.

Oh, it’s only words. I know, just another minor irritant in the social sludge. As a habit it is more corrosive to the user than to the recipient. And of course I have my own issues of internal smugness.

Yet I think if the elite of the world were somewhat less sarcastic, it might be a better place.