Sentimentality and Cynicism

I hate sentimentalism. And I think I qualify as a cynic.

I seek refuge behind this GB Shaw quote usually.

"What is the use of straining after an amiable view of things, when a cynical view is most likely to be true?"

But this nugget from an old 1999 interview in Salon with the author, Paul Auster, is particularly eye-opening for me.

"..cynicism and sentimentality are just two sides of the same distortion."