November 28, 2003
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One day on our Outward Bound trip was a service project to a wildlife shelter. Here, they take care of injured and sick animals. They had woodpeckers, hawks, falcons that had been hit by cars, dogs w/ broken legs, flying squirrels, doves, an amazing collection.
Here’s a picture of one of the owls there.
Topic: CHANGING THE WORLD AND OURSELVES
Ok, so I’m an idealist. I want things to change in the world, but, clearly the world is too big to be changed by ideas alone. To change others, you need to pursuade them, and to pursuade people, you need to show them the benefits to them of the things you are proposing to the world.
People are more likely to listen, and consider your ideas, if you are kind to them. Tonight I will watch Bowling for Columbine for the first time, although I’ve heard all about it. Michael Moore is an idealist, he’s writing books to expose problems that he sees.
But, in the process of making others look bad, and telling the world these things, is here burning certain bridges in the process?
By criticizing others, are you alienating the people that you want to change?
So much of politics is about why this or that plan is bad for the country.
Is it possible to promote policy by acknowledging the good in your opponents’ plans, but then presenting your plan on its own merits?
Maybe this is clearer. Is it possible to promote the good of your plan versus the good of the other plan, instead of the good of your plan, versus the bad of their plan?
I personally think the simple lifestyle, meaning a lifestyle that does not require extravigant spending, buying used things, or non-brand name things, etc. is a lifestyle that allows a person to focus more on their human side, their friends, family, and developing as an intelligent and ethical person. That is my aim, and it is my own life journey to keep myself on that path which I have chosen.
I cannot tell people to follow my lead. It is hard enough to change myself, and stay on my own path, that I cannot demand from people to follow me, nor can I criticize those whose lifestyle’s do not resemble my own in any way. What I can do, is try to promote my lifestyle in terms of what I do and think about it. I can share the benefits of it. I can hope that my ideal school, the type described on the websites www.elob.org and http://www.essentialschools.org/ will grow, and others will catch wind of this, and incorporate their ideas and strategies.
There is a danger in being an idealist. When you ignore the practical, you also risk alienating them. As I walked around a clothing store w/ a family member today, I recognized how my eyes now looked at the outside world through the eyes of an idealist. Every person I saw revolted me at first. “Do you really need that pair of boots you’re buying,” I wanted to shout. But, if I had a job and was making money, I might decide to splurge and treat myself too. What these people are doing is not wrong. It’s just their way of life, and our system of democracy and capitalism does give us these choices.
The question now, is what other choices to we have to our American culture, year 2003? I’ve found my other choices in travel, the outdoors, and writing. In future topics I’ll probably explore these further, but I just wanted to highlight how we should not try to banish choices. Just as we were free to choose our culture, we should be free to choose alternatives. So, hoo-ray for choices, now let’s start the campaing.
-Dan
Comments (8)
Changing the world is not as hard as you think! Hypothetically speaking, you only have to persuade women. That makes half as many people as your original plan. Let me explain: Women control men. Women are our child bearers for future generations. If a woman really wants to she can affect decisions that you or i make. Women have more power in groups than men and if driven can be the cause and the end to all wars.
I am glad you are an idealist. After you watch Bowling (powerful movie btw) you should check out the musical Don Quixote. It’s a 50′s or 60′s musical with cheesy parts all through it but all masculinity and bravado aside, it is very pertinent even today. Cervantes wrote Don quixote while in prison and the theme asks the question “is it better to live in reality as a pragmatist or to live in a dream as an idealist?”. Without the dreamers what would our society accomplish in it’s state of complacency?
Does the fault lie in the individual or the society they have existed in?
Canine,
Awesome question. I’d have to say it’s the system though, because your beliefs and values are formed by that system, and can make it difficult to be an individual. I don’t know much about history, not my best subject, but I’d imagine there were studies about the Nazis in Germany. If you are surrounded by nothing but hate, you hate. Likewise, if you are surrounded by nothing but complacency, you become complacent. All you know in life is what you’ve experienced. That’s why I don’t think we should fault individuals, rather, try to educate them and show them other options, so they can be more individuals to change society.
-Dan
hey! fantastic ideas, its such a great thing to be reminded how im not alone in my beliefs, thats why i love this idealism; solidarity can be global and one can feel kinship to complete strangers.
anyways, you said “People are more likely to listen, and consider your ideas, if you are kind to them.” and i totally agree! you can’t tell people how great compassion, solidarity and equality are, just show them! let people discover their own humanity through your own acts of love and courage, as these things unite us despite what they want us to think.
“There’s a sweetness in clumsy efforts.
Stubborn hope ALWAYS trumps lazy greed.
& gentle hearts tear vulgar castles down.” -GY!BE
bowling for columbine is an Awesome movie!
i’d agree that education is the key to change…is it wrong to buy those boots? well, if the person knew they were made in an asian sweatshop at the expense of democracy (and lets face it capitilism sucks for sweat shop workers) maybe he/she wouldn’t buy them…(i’m currently on a consumer awareness kick)
cool site!
Hmmm…so we’re exploiting people abroad. Question: are we also exploiting people at home? True, from what i’ve heard, work conditions suck abroad, but people choose to work there because they want the pay, I’m assuming. And how are asian sweatshops at the expense of democracy? I’m just asking for clarification of your words, since comments can mean different things to different people.
asian sweatshops (or any for that matter) stifle democracy because workers unions are repressed in favour of international investment. the indonesian government for example is under alot of economic pressure from the IMF to encourage americain investment in sweatshops. seeing as a disgruntled workforce with a union campaigning for workers rights is not that alluring to americain business (bad press back home) and the indonesian government really wants its workforce to be appealing it tends to repress all workers rights so that they have no voice. hence a lack of democracy.
dont want to step on anameishere’s toes i was just bored, i hope this is want you meant. cheers!
Getting away from sweatshops, I find that I am, confusingly, a jumble of pragmatism and idealism. I am not a consumer, but I often internally question my anti-consumerism stance? Where do you draw the line? Here is my the question I always ponder: If I make an above average income, and I have spare money, it would seem like excess for me to buy a BMW. Instead, I would rather get a less expensive car and donate or save the rest of the $. However, if you use induction with this logic, you can always do with less, and evenutally you will own nothing. This may be the ideal for some, but is not pragmatic at all. I need shelter, and I am unwilling/partially unable to construct my own shelter – so i rent. But do i rent the worst, most condemnable apartment i can find – probably not. Do I rent the $2000/month apartment – i shouldn’t. Where does the a idealist draw the line and cross into pragamatism?