Well Said: Being Cynical and Naive

He remembers being both cynical and naive in those days. "I assumed humans were basically bad people and if you stumbled…you would be devoured," he says. "I don't believe that anymore." Instead, he has been heartened by the hospitality that he's encountered while traveling around the world, even in places he thought would be hostile to Americans. "It made me hopeful and made me feel better about the human species," he says. "We like to be good, we aspire to do good things, and we're generally trudging through life trying to do the best we can."

Anthony Bourdain, WSJ

I like the realization that one can be "cynical and naive." Usually being cynical is represented as a response to "lost naivety." However, Bourdain puts his finger on the fact that often cynicism can be a response coming from a lack of experience. It was an eye opening realization to me.