Reply #4: The example I will give is personal experience. [View All]

[Selwynn]

But before I do, perhaps I can phrase it this way: there is an appropriate and productive and an inappropriate and non-productive way to express dissent, outrage, disagreement, etc.

Personally, I don't feel that I have been handicapped in my ability to act nor in my ability to stand strong for my convictions by adopting a philosophy that puts reconciliation and compassion front and center. Nor does that philosophy assume that I can be reconciled to everyone. There are clearly examples of folks with whom I will always be at odds, and clearly examples of people with particular mindsets that I will always reject. That rejection however, doesn't change my fundamental perspective.

My philosophy has not kept me from being able to say "this is wrong and outrageous" or "that is a lie" or "this action is tyrannical." It hasn't kept my silent or in anyway limited my ability and right to speak up and speak out loudly and often. What it has done however, is given me inroads in conversation to people who would not listen for two seconds to mindless insults or harassment. It has given me personally the opportunity to change minds more than once, and I consider that something valuable.

I fail to see how my comments can so easily be construed into implying some kind of passivity or inaction. It is in fact precisely the opposite. I believe that it is the only way to discover an actual ability to really act in meaningful ways rather than perpetual a cycle of pointless sound and fury, signifying nothing.

It's not about putting people on a pedestal. It's not about expectations of perfection. That is why I said that my own guiding principle for my own life is one that seeks to be a better (note: not perfect) man tomorrow than I am today. That's all I ask of myself, and that's all I seek in others. And there are a wide array of examples of people in my own life who most definitely do not disappoint from that perspective.

Holding challenging and uncompromised values is not irrelevant when one understands that the appropriate response to such ideals is the drive to be better - not to be perfect. It's a beautiful thing (for me) because it is an ongoing life commitment. I can frequently succeed at being better. I'm not even worried about the wrong-headed notions of achieving perfect, nor am I looking for that in others. I am looking for people committed to the same ideals that I believe are most right, and who seek to be better each day. And that, I have found over and over again.

There is nothing in my personal life that amounts to inaction, or an inability to speak out or act out against things that I believe are unjust and outrageous. But perhaps a better way to describe it is to say that our experience of "outrage" at the things we see and experience can lead us down a couple different paths. They can lead us to little more than more anger, and outrage transformed into blind rage, which frequently functions as a denial or mask over deeper feelings that we don't want to deal with. Or they can lead to avenues for expression of fundamental commitments - commitments to compassionate concern for justice and equality to name one. Blind rage at some outrage we see contributes nothing of value, and moreover, very frequently contributes negative roadblocks and obstacles to our path. Outrage turned into compassionate commitment to our principles creates with it the opportunity for meaningful action.

That is my philosophy, which has repeatedly worked well for me. As far as my age goes, that is irrelevant. Evaluate my arguments their own merit; you are of course free to disagree.