NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote an interesting op-ed piece yesterday titled Generation Q. He's branded your generation the Q generation because on the one hand you remain optimistic and committed to making changes in the world, and yet, he seems to think you are too quiet for your own good. It set me wondering about whether you have to be angry to be a good activist. Friedman seems to feel like the people in power need a good "kick in the pants" and is nominating college age students to do the job. Maybe he's right? Thoughts from others? The link to his article is:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/10/opinion/10friedman.html?ex=1192680000&en=b45a693d3a9ed381&ei=5070&emc=eta1
3 comments:
To answer the question: do you need to be angry to be an activist?
I say, no. First of all, we can't confuse anger for passion. Anger is a form that passion sometimes takes on, but it is not the only form. Passion can be displayed in many ways and one of those is being active in bringing forth change.
I do agree that we're an optimistic generation and I think that's a good thing. Optimism gets things done; sometimes, all that cynicism or negativism does is constrict action. Optimism doesn't ignore the ugly parts of life; it just look at them with a propensity toward hope. Hope is thought that things could change.
If we want to make a difference in our world, we have to act. Actions always speak louder than words; it's cliche but it's true. If you want to change something, then get out there and do everything in your power to change it! Sometimes we think that because we're young, we're limited. There is nothing more untrue. We may be young but we have as much say in the world as everybody else. We can make decisions and we can change things.
So what are you sitting around for? Get out there and change the world!
~Kim
A comment about anger -- Aristotle thought anger was a positive passion, a virtue, if you will. It was the right amount of passion (between passivity and fury or rage) in response to an insult, wrong or harm. Of course, anger can lead to action, so you'd want to make sure that it was indeed anger (and not fury or rage), that is, self-controlled passion, so that one's action was proportional to the wrong or harm.
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