Courage and passion
Having read a recent a blog entry by Steve Coll I started thinking about the two words stated above. Courage. Passion. What do I have to be courageous about? What makes me feel the kind of passion that make journalists like Lasantha Wickramatunga willing to die for what they believe in? Nothing.
Understand me correctly here - I do not in any way wish that I lived in a society where one has to fight every single day for liberties such as free speach, or freedom of religion. But I do think that I have let myself become emotionally indifferent, living in a society where cynicism and 'realism' has taken the place of idealism and a sense of 'what ought to be', and where people are rewarded for image, or what are considered material virtues.
Ideals are important, not only because it might spur one to take action against what one finds unjust in the world, but also because every individual must have a sense of purpose, also in their personal lives. We need to know what we are living for. This is what makes people create, act, and what moves this whole machinery forward.
This is abstract sounding indeed. But we need principles that we are willing stand up for and protect. Otherwise we will get lost in this great black hole called modern society.
Understand me correctly here - I do not in any way wish that I lived in a society where one has to fight every single day for liberties such as free speach, or freedom of religion. But I do think that I have let myself become emotionally indifferent, living in a society where cynicism and 'realism' has taken the place of idealism and a sense of 'what ought to be', and where people are rewarded for image, or what are considered material virtues.
Ideals are important, not only because it might spur one to take action against what one finds unjust in the world, but also because every individual must have a sense of purpose, also in their personal lives. We need to know what we are living for. This is what makes people create, act, and what moves this whole machinery forward.
This is abstract sounding indeed. But we need principles that we are willing stand up for and protect. Otherwise we will get lost in this great black hole called modern society.
Kommentarer
Trackback
