HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
May 19, 2004 If the world were completely simplistic, then classification would boil down to one type of opinion that people have, and that's the ideas of Realism versuses the ideas of Idealism. Some people are conservative and entirely realistic where as others are liberal and entirely idealistic. Though the world isn't simple and focused on only these two extremes, the inevitability of the two still exists. I do realize that there are happy mediums and countless types of people fitting between these two types, that isn't the our focus. People who are realistic tend to have jobs that everyone can say, 'That's a realistic job.' They live simple lives with simple burdens, and everything remains undoubtedly simplistic. My classic example is my own father. He is a realist to the extreme. His whole life he has striven to be nothing more than a middle class salary worker, maintaining his happy little life with a happy little salary. When he sits down and reviews something, the only thing that matters in the world is how he views that something. He is a republican, and as such he pays little heed to the topics the politicians he votes for have views on. Instead, he goes into the voting booth, checks the box titled, 'All Republican' and walks out. Simple. No matter what you say to him about a politician's faults, he simply replies, 'They are Republican, that's all that matters.' To some this would seem next-to silly and ignorant to do. However, it is a logical thing to do. If you are stoic in your beliefs, and you know that in general a certain person supports your beliefs, then you vote for them. Paying attention to too much detail can prove to be endlessly stressful and wind up getting you to no further a position than where you started. Debate leads to argument, which leads to conflict, which leads to violence... at least that is how some people can view it. To a realistic, in short, the world is as simple as a mathematical equation. Point A connects Point B to Point C. A without B is cannot equal C. Et cetera and so on. On the other end, you have the world's Idealistic peoples. To an idealist, the sky is the limit. These people strive for nothing more than eternal greatness, and not in a heavenly sense. These are the people who want to imprint themselves on society's mind for ages to come. These are your Julius Caesars, Hitlers, Marilyn Monroes, Dick Clarks and so on. These are the people who makes the millions of dollars doing the easiest of jobs... the life everyone else dreams about. These people grow up feeling that they are destined to do something more than a 9 to 5'er, make more than a menial, middle class salary. These people are the people who have to do something that the world will recognize them for. These people's biggest problems end up being not suceeding. They become so intent on doing what they dream to do, that it becomes all that matters. They do not work normal jobs, they would rather be moneyless before success, than have a mediocre job until they can find success. Now, it may just be me, but without money you cannot make money in this world. You have to have a starting point. Nobody can start from nothing. This is where the idealist has a downfall. It is all or nothing to them. In politics, the idealists is the ultimate undecisive. Idealists makes the best debaters, because they have opinions about their opinions. So they can sit and talk for hours about nothing and succeed at pointing out nothing, yet in the same instance have changed everyone's in the room mind about one thing or the other, yet on the same note have no idea how they feel about anything they have talked about. When they vote, they pay too much attention to detail and sometimes even have trouble voting. To them, it is usually the guy who seemed like less of an liar about things. But what in the world is better? Is an idealist better than a Realistic person? Luckily, this does not have to be decided because we live in a complex world. Idealists develop realistic ideas that carry them until their fantasies come true. Realists carry idealistic fantasies that give them something to look forward to the next day. Myself, I'm an idealist. I am almost too idealistic to the extent that nothing brings me down. I am inevitably happy because I always believe the next day will bring something glorious. My father is a successful realist. He has a respectable salary and respectable things in his life. I hope to at least say the same before I die. Though I intend to have things no person will ever need. ------------ About the author David Russell Waddell: I have a novel that I have written, but I have yet to find a publisher for it. I eventually plan to internet publish it, just to get feedback on its content and written aspect, hoping that before I reach the point of literary submission, it is as good as it can get without professional editing. http://www.xanga.com/David_Rex is my online journal, a website that I deal with frequently. I am in the process (slowly) of creating a new personal webpage at http://anaukwardsilence.tripod.com, and sometime soon I will have a music site up for my Emo/Punk band called A Post Card Hello. Email: David_Rex_the_Dinosaur@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
