The Significance of Taking Action “What we think, or what we know, or what we believe is, in the end, of little consequence. The only consequence is what we do.” In this quote from John Ruskin, he asserts that ideas or beliefs mean nothing unless they are acted upon. John Ruskin’s quote about how beliefs and ideas must be put into use to change the world is an accurate statement because thoughts only exist in the person’s mind, ideas have no meaning unless something is done with those said ideas, and because the beliefs and actions of others could influence the actions of an individual. To begin with, this quote from John Ruskin establishes the importance of the difference between thinking of doing something, and actually doing it. Beliefs …show more content…
Without expressing beliefs or ideas, the thoughts simply exist in the person’s mind with no purpose. Something must be done with these ideas in order to give them meaning. In her piece, Goodbye Columbus, Mac McClelland voices her opinions on the employment and economy of Columbus, Ohio. McClelland writes this piece for the purpose of spreading awareness about the harsh working conditions, underpaying jobs, and unemployment inducing budget cuts in the city of Columbus. By following the story of two of her best friends and their daughter going through tough times, including many other personal experiences, McClelland shows the harmful effect the struggling economy has on many families throughout the city. With this piece, McClelland is implicitly addressing the politicians of Ohio, and through her writing, she implies that something must be done about working conditions and the economy to help support low-wage workers. Goodbye Columbus relates to the John Ruskin quote because the author had a certain belief, and instead of keeping it to herself, she took action and voiced her belief for the world to see. Her opinions on the preceding issues would not have made a difference, if she did not take action. Thus, the expression and use of ideas can make a difference, while keeping those ideas to oneself accomplishes
Steinbeck provides this anecdote in order to foreshadow events in future chapters. In this chapter, Steinbeck describes a situation in which a group of people in Akron, Ohio formed a union and revolted against the authorities. While Steinbeck demonstrates the migrant workers as innocent people looking for peaceful solutions to their
When we do something, it may have an effect of others. Actions can be more powerful than words, and what that means is that our body expressions can be overruling than us using any words. Right actions can lead to so many good things. For example helping the needy by taking them food, or giving a pair of socks to a homeless person is an action that can teach us to be humble.
"In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true." - John Lilly
There are many cases of people being stubborn or unwilling to change their views. Although being stubborn is usually portrayed as a negative trait, Emerson's third maxim, "Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind" (Emerson), portrays it in a positive light. A succinct explanation of this maxim would simply be believing in one's own thoughts, beliefs, moral, ethics, and honor without conforming to what others believe is the most sacred quality. The maxim connects to the idea of self-reliance; where people must be able to rely on their own beliefs, morals, and are able to think for themselves. For example, The Night Thoreau Spent In Jail, a play written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, involves a lot of Emerson's maxims
Wallace felt it was very important to get the point across that people need to make a conscious choice when facing problems. He said,”that people who think, will actually be within the power to experience a crowded, loud, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but important (Wallace 6).” A person that thinks will have complete control of how that person handles the situation. If a person is driving to the gas station, but as soon as he arrives another driver cut him off the last minute, leaving no other fuel pumps open, that person may become angry and frustrated. But maybe if that person would have thought that he or she does not know what that other person is going through, maybe they could be rushing to bring their children home from school, or that person is rushing to the hospital to meet his dying parent. Maybe if that person was thinking it would have been a lot easier to not get frustrated. He said,” a person that thinks, gets to decide, how they are going to see it (Wallace 6).” Thinking can help a person enjoy the benefits of not being frustrated with things that a person cannot change.
“A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Good Country People” are two short stories written by Flannery O’Connor during her short lived writing career. Despite the literary achievements of O’Connor’s works, she is often criticized for the grotesqueness of her characters and endings of her short stories and novels. Her writings have been described as “understated, orderly, unexperimental fiction, with a Southern backdrop and a Roman Catholic vision, in defiance, it would seem, of those restless innovators who preceded her and who came into prominence after her death”(Friedman 4). “A Good Man Is Hard To Find” and “Good Country People” are both set in the South, and O’Connor explores the tension between the old and new South. The stories are tow
Wallace then discussed that the most important way to fight the urge of staying in their natural default-setting is to think. Wallace tried to persuade the audience by stressing the importance of exercising control over what that person thinks. Wallace felt it was very important to get the point across that people
One thing that helped people change the way thought was Sojourner Truth in her speech Ain’t I A Woman when she says the words, “And ain't I a woman?”( Ain’t I a Woman-2) These words reached many people to help change them. There way of thought changed helping so that everyone can have equal rights. Then there was Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address when he said, “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we cannot consecrate -- we cannot hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract.”( Gettysburg Address- 3) He tells the people that must push forward and not give up on the task at hand. This changes the attitude of the people encouraging them to keep going. Furthermore, with the words of many, the way we thought was changed to what we know today as
The children’s story “The Little Engine That Could” portrays a little engine who wishes to carry a larger train over a hill. Throughout the story he tells himself “I think I can…I think I can”. The outcome is that he manages to successfully transport the larger train over the hill. The moral of this story is that if a person thinks positive then he or she will produce great results. In other words if you think you can accomplish a task then chances are you probably will. The secret is a positive thought process. If a man changes the way that he thinks he changes his life.
For example, in Self-Reliance, Emerson discusses the importance of an individual’s resistance to conforming to social norms. Listing the several benefits of non-conformity, he surmises that accepting public opinion as one’s own ultimately leads to the wasting of one’s life. He further stresses the importance of non-conformity through great figures such as Socrates, Jesus, Galileo, and Newton, all who were initially ridiculed for their innovative ideas and perspectives on the surrounding world. Furthermore, he notes that any apparent inconsistency will ultimately be consistency when examined on a life-long scale. All of the fluctuations, when viewed on a larger scale, will depict an average tendency. He concludes that our individual natures allow us to combat false consistency, as well as conformity, and allow us to become self-reliant--to be able to express autonomy over our individual
The Russian Revolution is a widely studied and seemingly well understood time in modern, European history, boasting a vast wealth of texts and information from those of the likes of Robert Service, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Allan Bullock, Robert Conquest and Jonathan Reed, to name a few, but none is so widely sourced and so heavily relied upon than that of the account of Leon Trotsky, his book “History of the Russian Revolution” a somewhat firsthand account of the events leading up to the formation of the Soviet Union. There is no doubt that Trotsky’s book, among others, has played a pivotal role in shaping our understanding of the events of The Revolution; but have his personal predilections altered how he portrayed such paramount
During the 1900’s the Russian Government made it extremely hard for the Bolsheviks to progress which made them revolt against the government making this a prime matter for the start of the Revolution. The Czarist government was ostracized by the common people of Russia so Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown by the Provisional Government, whom later on were overthrown by Lenin and shortly after the Bolsheviks took control over Russia. Russia was hard to develop because of the major leaders who had control; Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky. Almost overnight an entire society was destroyed and replaced with one of the most radical social experiments ever seen. Poverty, crime, privileged and class-divisions were to be eliminated, a new era of socialism
Thesis Statement: In Flannery O'Connor's short story "Good Country People," the expulsion of the outside world allows for more emphasis on the symbolic nature of each of the active characters.
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Lenin was the Bolshevik leader. He was a clever thinker and a practical man; he knew how to take advantage of events. When Lenin arrived in Russia, he issued a document called the April theses, promising ‘peace, bread, land and freedom’. He called for an end to the ‘Capitalist’ war, and demanded that power should be given to the soviets.
In How Successful People Think, John C. Maxwell discusses the thought processes used by successful individuals and describes how these techniques can be learned. He outlines the 11 types of thinking and the important skills attributed to each. People succeed by: 1. Seeing the wisdom of big-picture thinking 2. Unleashing the potential of focused thinking 3. Discovering the joy of creative thinking 4. Recognizing the importance of realistic thinking 5. Releasing the power of strategic thinking 6. Feeling the energy of possibility thinking 7. Embracing the lessons of reflective thinking 8. Questioning the acceptance of popular thinking 9. Encouraging the participation of shared thinking 10. Experiencing the satisfaction of unselfish thinking 11. Enjoying the returns associated with bottom-line thinking