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 By Jack Lepiarz Mar. 29, 2006 Several people have suggested a follow-up article to my previous article "Various Responses to Criticism", in which I outlined the various ways that a person might respond to criticism. Now, I'd like to present the other side and a couple of ways that a person can be a critic. As with anything, there are some good ways,and some bad. Sometimes criticism can come out of frustration. A person, feeling as though they are being ignored, may lash out and criticize people - especially those in power. This criticism usually comes in the form of criticizing every single little, inconsequential thing about the person (or political party). Sometimes these complaints ar valid. Oftentimes they are not. More realistically, their complaints often mix the legitimate with the illegitimate (or even irrelevant). This type of criticism usually includes the following one, in which people complain about something but don't offer a legitimate solution. Naturally, any warm-blooded conservative is probably thinking that this applies to the Democrats complaints on Iraq. They are right - to a point. The Democrats have not proposed a "winning solution" because there isn't one that both sides can agree on. Some Democrats want to pull out of Iraq immediately, but Republicans (and many moderates) say that this will only help in the destabilizing of Iraq and will guarantee civil war. On the other hand, Iraq may be headed towards a civil war regardless of how many American troops are there. The two solutions at the moment are to "cut and run", or to keep on fighting an increasingly unpopular war. Before I digress too much though, I'd like to move on to the next form of criticism. There are some people that criticize various programs, but offer a system that only benefits them. Quite normal, really. If somebody is criticizing a government program (or even someone's character), it is usually because they believe that they are being treated unfairly. In an attempt to fix the balance, they will respond by proposing a solution that benefits them (humans are, after all, inherently selfish). The most rare form of criticism is real fair and unbiased criticism. Normally, people have far too much pride to actually propose a fair and balanced critique - one that deals with problems on both sides of the issue. Of course, most politicians' failure to do this is one of the reason we have such a great deal of partisanship in our government. There comes a time for criticism. People often complain that critics don't offer solutions. Solutions are not always necessary - especially when the public wants a scapegoat (think Katrina). Most of the time, critics should offer an alternative solution to whatever program that they are criticizing. It's only fair. ------------ About the author: Jack Lepiarz is a senior at Madison High School. Born in Waco, Texas, he lived with the Big Apple Circus for much of his early childhood, eventually moving to Madison, New Jersey, where he now resides. Although he is often described as stubborn and egotistical, he tries to keep an open-mind towards new ideas and treat people the way he would like to be treated. Email: Jackwuzhere42@aol.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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