I've found that I've grown more and more cynical about the world; as a child, I did not know and could never fathom that
the world revolves around money (Chinese link). Upon entering working life, yes, there is stuff I have to do to make money. But what I do is small-fry compared to government and large companies, who don't just do stuff out of the goodness of their hearts. There's always some financial advantage to it, be it direct short-term return on the investment, or a long-term advertising campaign hidden under the guise of public service that will eventually net them a return later.
If you have an hour and twenty minutes, watch
Loose Change if you feel like thinking through different possibilities to the motives behind 9/11, the good or evil nature of human beings, the power of the media, and the power of human greed. It made me sad. Yes, I believe it is possible. When human greed is involved, the things that are possible don't surprise me anymore.
Yup, I'm a cynic about the world, but somehow an optimist for the most part about individuals and myself. Can't change the world (oh, how I held those ideals so long ago!), but I can at least try to be happy in my own way in a power-hungry world.