Cynicism

He turned and gazed out the window.  A large sign was affixed to an airplane hangar across the tarmac.  It read PATRIA ES HUMANIDAD.  An internationalist assertion -- the only real nation is humanity.
"I think that's so lovely," Farmer said.
"I don't know, " I said.  "It seems like a slogan to me."
He looked away.  "I guess you're right."
I felt as though I'd punched him.  Among a coward's weapons, cynicism is the nastiest of all.  "No, it is lovely," I muttered.  "If it's really meant."

p. 209, Mountains Beyond Mountains, Tracy Kidder, Dec. 2010