It being the end of the year we are starting to see those polls about people of the year and that sort of thing. I saw one on my timeline yesterday asking something similar. My first thought was to write, " if the people you admire the most are the ones you have never met and spent time with, maybe you need new friends or a change in perception. " I put that thought in parenthesis for a specific reason. First take the word itself, parenthesis. For me it was something I heard from my parents , that's the ( paren ) part and the thesis part, well that is self explanatory. My thoughts, like all the rest of us, are just a theory on human nature and behavior. I mean I don't believe any of us really understand everyone else. That is to say, understand what the other person is thinking. Having said that I don't understand why your most admired person would be a stranger. Oh I admire talented artists, singers, poets, writers and movie stars like everyone else, but they don't make the most significant impact on my life. The truth is they exist solely for my entertainment. What I admire is their talent. Who or what they are as people is a mystery to me and most likely will remain that way. Would I enjoy meeting these folks ? Yes, it would be nice to talk to them for a while, to get to know them. Would I stand in line for hours to shake their hand ? No, no I wouldn't. The reason for that is simple, I believe I stand on equal footing with them. Yes, they have money and fame, but we are in the end, just people. Should I stand in line to shake the hand of a total stranger ?
It is an old adage, and one I heard often growing up, they put their pants on one leg at a time, same as you. Positive reinforcement they call it these days, I learned it as fact. That is really a fundamental difference. Wealth, power and influence do not make the man. That's not to say that the wealthy, powerful and influential can't be good people, many are I'm certain. It is the character that we should admire. You can't really know the character of a person without having known the person. Their deeds, their contributions, may indeed indicate they are of good moral character but how can you know ? If you don't know the person personally, you can't. Then you are left to admire whatever those deeds and contributions where. That is where the line gets blurred between admiration for the person and admiration of their accomplishments. A matter of semantics you say ? Yes, to a degree I think that it is. When they are asking for your opinion on man of the year, or most admired, that may be the intent. Who has accomplished the most, made the most significant contribution ? All of that s subjective. Popularity rises and falls like the tide. Similar to fad and fashion, what may be good this year is not so well received the following year.
It was just that when I read that question the first name to pop into my mind wasn't a politician, poet, singer or anyone famous at all. It may sound cliché, but the first name I thought of was my father. Now, that was a man to admire. Fact is, I spent quite a few years of my life trying to be him, as most young men will. Next I thought of Reverend Samuel Davis, not just the parish priest but a friend. He was an engineer, had a degree in that subject, and yet devoted his life to preaching the gospel. A man of faith, strength and a man to emulate. I have two brothers and a sister, all rank higher than any celebrity you can name. Yes these are the names that come to mind when I am asked about who I admire the most. As much as I admire the talents of strangers, they remain strangers to me. They entertain. Their lives, their character, who they are, are a mystery to me. I may fantasize about what their lives and character are on based on what is being presented to me. A good number of these folks are quite eccentric compared to you and I. We do make generous allowances for those that entertain us, don't we. Not so generous when they displease us however. The public is fickle. And it s for that reason I do not place much trust in the public but gravitate toward the personal. Even a cactus is beautiful when in bloom but I wouldn't want to embrace it. And so I say, if your most admired are strangers to you , you just don't have very good friends or you need to change your view of things.
It is an old adage, and one I heard often growing up, they put their pants on one leg at a time, same as you. Positive reinforcement they call it these days, I learned it as fact. That is really a fundamental difference. Wealth, power and influence do not make the man. That's not to say that the wealthy, powerful and influential can't be good people, many are I'm certain. It is the character that we should admire. You can't really know the character of a person without having known the person. Their deeds, their contributions, may indeed indicate they are of good moral character but how can you know ? If you don't know the person personally, you can't. Then you are left to admire whatever those deeds and contributions where. That is where the line gets blurred between admiration for the person and admiration of their accomplishments. A matter of semantics you say ? Yes, to a degree I think that it is. When they are asking for your opinion on man of the year, or most admired, that may be the intent. Who has accomplished the most, made the most significant contribution ? All of that s subjective. Popularity rises and falls like the tide. Similar to fad and fashion, what may be good this year is not so well received the following year.
It was just that when I read that question the first name to pop into my mind wasn't a politician, poet, singer or anyone famous at all. It may sound cliché, but the first name I thought of was my father. Now, that was a man to admire. Fact is, I spent quite a few years of my life trying to be him, as most young men will. Next I thought of Reverend Samuel Davis, not just the parish priest but a friend. He was an engineer, had a degree in that subject, and yet devoted his life to preaching the gospel. A man of faith, strength and a man to emulate. I have two brothers and a sister, all rank higher than any celebrity you can name. Yes these are the names that come to mind when I am asked about who I admire the most. As much as I admire the talents of strangers, they remain strangers to me. They entertain. Their lives, their character, who they are, are a mystery to me. I may fantasize about what their lives and character are on based on what is being presented to me. A good number of these folks are quite eccentric compared to you and I. We do make generous allowances for those that entertain us, don't we. Not so generous when they displease us however. The public is fickle. And it s for that reason I do not place much trust in the public but gravitate toward the personal. Even a cactus is beautiful when in bloom but I wouldn't want to embrace it. And so I say, if your most admired are strangers to you , you just don't have very good friends or you need to change your view of things.
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