"Talent is spread evenly. Opportunity is not."
"Be the change you want to see."
"If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem."
I don't get it. I just don't get it.
Okay, maybe I understand what the writers are thinking: There is a problem in this world, and we need people to step up and fix it. That's okay. I live in a place where a lot could be fixed if people found a cause and stood up for it. I feel like I should like these quotes, but every time I read one, I just get annoyed.
Each quote says that there is a problem. There is something wrong with this world and no one is doing anything about it... and then the quote ends. You come in, tell me how many children starve per year in Africa, and then leave. No! Help me understand! Tell me how to help these poor kids. Show me where to donate money. Tell me how I can be less wasteful. Give me a list of good charities to donate to. Tell me which non-perishables I can send.
These quotes are like really bad doctors. I walk into their office and they give me a checkup. Then looking through their glasses down at their clipboard they say, "There is something terribly wrong with you. You will surely die if you do nothing about it." And then this doctor leaves for his lunch break.
Now here I am, sitting in the office, knowing that I have some horrible terminal illness that will kill me if I don't do something fast. I need medication, but the doctor didn't prescribe anything. I need a way to get rest, but the doctor didn't show me where. So I walk out of the office, feeling guilty that I had let the condition progress to where it was untreatable.
"All the problems of the world are caused by people who don't listen."
Then tell me how to listen! Tell me who to listen to! Don't just tell me to listen and leave it like that. Help me understand how listening affects the world. Tell me how to fix the problems caused by people who aren't good listeners. Show me how to find out if I'm a good listener.
Just please, please, don't dump a problem on my conscience. I'm not some whiny kid who won't confront my problems-- I really want to make a change in the world, but you have to show me how to.
Because now, look. Every single quote is being forwarded to me in some form or another. They're all over the internet. I cannot escape all of the problems and I cannot find any solutions. Now this doctor is intruding on my house! He's knocking on my door, and telling me how horribly ill I am and then closing it-- only to come back a few hours later.
Stop! If you want me to make a change, then tell me solutions, don't pile problems onto my back.
"When we talk about settling the world's problems, we're barking up the wrong tree. The world is perfect. It's a mess. It's always been a mess. We are not going to change it. Our job is to straighten out our own lives."
Now there's a quote I can enjoy.
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140,094 Literary Works • 672,998 Reviews
Hello! I thought I'd begin my daily run around through the green room with your work, and as far as I'm aware I'm glad. This was a very good opinion piece, though to be fair I have little idea why it's in the short story section--don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing it for that. I'm just a little confused as to why it's here when it can go under the non-fiction section or something.
Anyway, onto the review. Thankfully, I didn't notice any grammar slip ups or spelling errors that were too blatant and ruined the fun (though I would still suggest a regular proofreading, just in case I did miss something), so we'll just get down to the nitty-gritty if you don't mind me.
While I did like the sentiment of this entire piece, I couldn't help but shake off the feeling that it was missing something, as if it didn't 'understand' the quotes it was criticizing. It sounds pretentious, I know, and it sort of is, but quotes aren't supposed to tell you how to fix your life--if anything, a notable quote should be able to give you another point of view on a topic, and nothing else. What you do with it isn't important, it's how hard the quote made you think. So likening a slice of text under 100 words long to a doctor whose spent years of medical training to actually fix people is...well, the analogy falls flat, is what I'm trying to say.
However, that was before I read the ending, which was another beast entirely. If I could sum up what I thought would make a better criticism of these quotes, it would literally be that ending line right there. Why didn't you have the entire article revolve around it? The problem about these quotes, at least to me, is that they act like there's a problem in the world that we can fix if we just tried, not that they don't tell the readers what to do. I feel cheated, what was the point of me reading the analogy if you had a solution at hand? Because, if I'm honest, it feels like you yourself actually believe there is a problem in the world--which contradicts the later statement. I don't know, I think it would've been better to at the very least hint that there isn't a problem in the world that we can fix instantly, so that the readers know where you stand on the topic.
But otherwise, this was a good article. While I do feel you should make your position clearer, I do like the point of the article and what it's trying to say, and for the most part I did agree with it. Very nicely done.
Signing out,
--EM.
Thanks for the review! I'll fix those things.
"You see, these types of things are the thingy-things I like to call "cliches" for lack of better terminology. That's how I knew she was on the ceiling."- Zhoma Sacred, "The Sacred Demon Estate", 2014(by me, so don't Google. Spoilers, it's mediocre.)
This is wonderful! This actually dug up an old qualm of mine I haven't found the time to deal with above my personal issue of the world's inhabitants having ENTIRELY too many similarities, to the point where it's nigh-contagious and I frankly don't feel like contracting it. When I was younger (as if I'm not still in high school), I remember having an issue with walking around my brother's high school and finding all of these quotes on the walls that bothered me to death for one reason or another. I mean it REALLY made me mad that THOSE quotes were supposed to inspire me to be the best I could be. The most those quotes managed to get me to aspire to be was the guy that walks around writing down "inspirational quotes" for the lolz!
That rant aside, I appreciate the fact that you want to help make the world a better place, and I love how funny it was to read this and understand the analogy yet also feel the pain and actual longing for a solution in the tone of the piece. I can really feel how much it bothers you, and I'm glad I've met someone who sees eye-to-eye on something like this without it being a standoff.
However, on the subject of you really wanting to help people, take a gander at this.
Problem: The world has too many people acting fake to avoid being criticized and bullied for difference.
Solution (Current): Anti-bullying campaigns and every little kids' TV show ever...you know, excluding the actually educational ones like Electric Company and Arthur (which did an entire episode on Asperger's, which most high schoolers don't understand, let alone little kids. This and all of the advanced educational references and realistic representation of the imaginations of elementary kids with individuality.).
Thus I ask: What's your stand on the solution to the above stated problem, and what's your own solution, if any. Anybody can answer, so feel free to step up to the plate!
Thanks for the review!
I don't think there will ever be a solution to bullying. We can try as hard as we want, but there will always be people who feel like they need to be like their peers just to not be bullied or stand out. There will also always be bullies.
I've been bullied many times, but I've become stronger as a result. Plus, we cannot pretend that after school ends, everyone can be themselves and act different without criticism. I'm not saying that bullies in school are a good thing, but they can help make you stronger for the real world.