Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Hmmmm...
It have come to my attention that there are many idealists in this class, and a few realists. To the idealists: I would be one of you, if we live in perfect world. But we do not. Idealism has been exemplified in history many time to be ineffective. Ever hear of prohibition, the Kellog-Briand Pact of the 1920's, isolationism of the 30's, etc? All were unrealistic, but were idealistic, and ended up causing more problems than they solved. So that is reason why I am a realist, because the world is not perfect, and you have to approach problems with realistic solutions and not try to abide by certain principles that (you think) are set in stone. Principles may guide you in your thinking, but there always is a gray area, and principles can not always be counted on. It is this way, and only this way, that progress is ever made. Do you think that if we lived in the 80's idealists would have supported Reagan's expansion of the military? No, and while it was (and still is) controversial from both perspectives, you could not have counted on the USSR to decrease the size of their military if Reagan had followed an idealistic approach such as a decrease in the size of the US military. Reagan's solution was....realistic, and now we have the ability to maintain a classroom discussion over simpler things without worrying about a nuclear holocaust.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
1. Andrew, you must change your screen name. You are disrespecting Confucious. He was all about peace, beauty, respect, and intellect. Your post has none of that.
2. What's so bad about being an idealist? What a great thing to aspire to: peace, morality, and human rights. Hmmm...doesn't sound so bad.
As a young boy, growing up in the plains of Manchuria, I aspired to become a fire-breathing dragon. Yet, I slowly learned to embrace the reality that confined me to my worldly existence as a human being. You must learn this, too.
Oh yes, also, peace, morality, and human rights are all good things to "aspire" to. However, to accomplish these things, you must try and find practical solutions that work within the bounds of our bleak reality. You can protest all you want against such things that are considered "for the greater good" with arguments of principles and utopian scenarios. However, like I said before, there are gray areas in every issue of importance, and to arrive at the most progressive and helpful solution means you have to incorporate a little bit of black and a little bit of white when forming the solution, and no, I'm not referring to race.
Post a Comment