Beware of Cynicism is a satire that examines medical education with sharp and cutting humor in the context of profound disillusionment. The story chronicles the adventures of The Morality Police, Jaded Larry, Follows the Rules, and The Grumbler, four over 40-year-old students, as they navigate medical school at the world’s most conservative university, The Land of the Zealots.
 

The heroes find themselves immersed in a milieu with classmates young enough to be their children, bureaucrats who are oblivious to common sense, and administrators struggling to adhere to their own proclaimed values. The Morality Police soon discovers a sinister plot to overthrow The Four Commands, which all Zealots are sworn to uphold, and an evil spirit of entitlement that threatens to destroy the foundations of medicine.
 

Butler’s story pulls back the curtain on medical education and the toll that it takes on students, especially those with lived experience.