Activists or just followers?

[Samsa]

Legend has it, people who only heard the audio portion of the Nixon/Kennedy debate though that Nixon won it pretty easily. I've not seen (or heard) enough of it to make a judgement, but it's worthy of a discussion.

I'm not sure that has so much to do with beautiful people, as the fact that Nixon refused to wear makeup. (I believe I have this right.) Nixon's mother even called him after the debate to ask if he was alright, as he looked that sick...

 

[MrNewportCustom]

I think I'm a mix of the two, actually. In most respects I've always followed the rules and toed the mark because I was raised to do that -- and yet I never had a problem going against the grain of the crowd when rebelliousness for the sake of rebelliousness became trendy -- I never got pushed into doing things I didn't want to do simply to fit in.

I'm definitely not an activist in the whoop-and-holler-and-carry-a-sign sense -- I have no desire to enforce my will or my beliefs on anyone else. But neither will I stand for them forcing theirs on me.

You've also described me.


Lee
______________________________

'There are various forms of the disease, the victim of which is unable to say "No." Some of these forms are more serious than others, and often lead to electrocution or marriage.' - Robert Benchley

 

[Elaina]

I'm alot like Lizzie: I toe the line, until I don't.

As to doctors, my mom is an RN and I know my rights. Doctor's dislike paitents being active in their healthcare, but I haven't taken seriously anything one's said since I was 14.

 

[Kishtu]

I can't toe the line [huh] it's got me into an awful lot of trouble in the past....

As my mum always says my first word was "why?"

Clearly a natural born cynic but whenever someone tells me what to do the first thing I think is "and what do you get out of it, chum?"

It makes me, I'm sure, an absolute menace to supervise at work....

 

[Leading Edge]

However did I miss this thread?!

I have always thought that human beings find it much easier to follow blindly than question what they are following.

My signature is my signature because the exact words of that verbal exchange actually happen routinely in my life! It puzzles me why people are so willing to "go along to get along" not just in the minor matters of social interactions, but in the major ones like health and the environmental impact of our collective lifestyle choices. I too have horror stories of health "care" by "authorities" for chronic conditions of the kidney and of the lungs. ERs and some hospitals have convince me to get one of those medic alert bracelets that says, "in an emergency, anywhere BUT (list of hospitals)"

DC expressed my other pet peeve:

. . . I think it was Davy Crockett who said, "If you know you're right - then go ahead." I'm not always right but I'm not afraid of being wrong either. . .

I still do not understand why people will not acknowledge that they are wrong. Last time I checked, none of us have wings so we must all still be human; "to err is human..." and you know the rest. Yet when I acknowledge my own faux pas or outright ignorance, people seem confused as to how to respond.
[huh] I get called crazy and laughed at a lot.

I am not an activist any more is a fact I did not realize until the onset of the current war (not the one on terrorism, the other one).

I am not an activist because I do not believe I have the right to determine what the world will be for this generations' time of raising a family and all that that involves. I believe this generation has to collectively determine and act on the best way to create the world in which they can enjoy this brief span we call life just as my generation did in our time.

My two fundamental principles are: cogito ergo sum (attributed to Rene Descartes) and "wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding" (Proverbs 4:7).
Thus, even though I am no longer marching and organizing and meeting and stridently grousing like an activist, I cannot be called a follower because I "think too much."

 

[Twitch]

All that thinking is great. But without action it is so much wasted time. Strategic and tactical battle plans have to be forged out of thinking or it is just a boondoggle.

 

[Paisley]

That sounds like another one of my social questions. fftopic: How much influence can a beautiful person have on a group of people? I guess that is another thread.

A very handsome man put a pair of $170 sandals on my feet in a shoe store. I bought them. :eusa_doh:

 

[Bebop]

I believe that seeking the truth makes for a much fuller life than THINKING you have the truth. Politics aside, Ronald Reagan had some wonderful one liners and one of them was, "Trust but verify". I think it holds true to most things in life. It goes along with personal resposibility. "Buyer Beware" could also be used to describe it.