tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923792986438866285.post5618398126320697179..comments2024-01-01T08:56:57.641-08:00Comments on Periphery: I May or May Not Be SpartacusTangledLouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04771682524596744447noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923792986438866285.post-44553181057513696932013-12-22T18:04:33.670-08:002013-12-22T18:04:33.670-08:00So much of what's here, both in the post itsel...So much of what's here, both in the post itself and in the comments, echoes the stuff that bounces around in my brain on a fairly regular basis. There is no shortage of injustice in our oh-so-evolved world even now, but what to do? How to do it? I think about "causes" all the time, but ultimately I mostly lack the hope, courage and stamina to do much about them out in the real world. How much more true would that have been in times when one's life was at stake for speaking out?Masked Momhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08197019009052401812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923792986438866285.post-27291823927278245172013-11-12T13:37:46.464-08:002013-11-12T13:37:46.464-08:00Inside my head it's easy to say I am, but outs...Inside my head it's easy to say I am, but outside it's a lot easier just to go along with the crowd. I don't think I've been in a situation where I could have stood up, but perhaps that's just my memory trying to put down any remembrances of times of trouble when I did not.JoeinVegashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05613274657685121948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923792986438866285.post-87380546830079231252013-11-11T20:23:29.976-08:002013-11-11T20:23:29.976-08:00You get to the very point of one of the things I&#...You get to the very point of one of the things I've been mulling over: Spartacus didn't worry that he was being rude, I suppose. There wasn't a whole lot of "live and let live" going around. It was more a "live free or die" kind of thing. So, there's that. You also hit on the other prong of this particular pitchfork. I think we so glibly cast ourselves on the side of "right" when we look back at history. No one looks back and thinks: "You know, I probably would have been a Nazi." No one. We imagine ourselves opening our attics and our basements to hide our Jewish neighbors, or to take part in the underground railroad or whatever, but would we have? And if we believe that, what are we doing now that would indicate such? It's so easy to be heroes in hindsight, but what about foresight? What about not just being a squeaky wheel, but really <i>doing</i> something to affect change? Is there anything left to do? Chomp chomp goes the brain worm.TangledLouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04771682524596744447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923792986438866285.post-71325850429756103132013-11-11T20:18:03.456-08:002013-11-11T20:18:03.456-08:00Do come back, Margi. I'm interested to hear yo...Do come back, Margi. I'm interested to hear your thoughts.TangledLouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04771682524596744447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923792986438866285.post-81373456036116676532013-11-11T20:17:44.006-08:002013-11-11T20:17:44.006-08:00You are not alone in a lot of these thoughts. I am...You are not alone in a lot of these thoughts. I am so glad you commented and I really appreciate your candor. You're right, we'll likely never have to die for anything we believe in. Sometimes I wonder, though, if we even <i>live</i> for the things we believe in. I also sometimes wonder if we believe in them because we are "supposed to" as people of a certain education and a certain standing, rather than because we really believe them. This is the sound of my brain chewing its own cud.TangledLouhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04771682524596744447noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923792986438866285.post-79684234192977255042013-11-11T14:32:21.814-08:002013-11-11T14:32:21.814-08:00I don't know, Suzanne. I started out my life b...I don't know, Suzanne. I started out my life believing I needed to be Spartacus, and I really tried. I was taught at church that I needed to stand up and say no when things were wrong. And I did. And mostly people told me I was uppity and morally righteous and hard to be around. What I can glean from Life, ever since then, has been that to stand your ground pretty much makes you an asshole. You aren't supposed to disagree over Facebook or in person or on your blog or at church. Because then you're just rude. And I suppose you are. I suppose I was. I end up thinking, "Who am I to think I'm right and they're wrong?" But Spartacus couldn't prove he was right either, could he? Especially since no one in power agreed with him. So, how do we manage? Where do we find the balance between right action and righteousness? And what don't we know that we think we do? I just don't know. It's a really good question.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08644569152748119356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923792986438866285.post-73132633838656933992013-11-08T18:53:50.172-08:002013-11-08T18:53:50.172-08:00I ... well ... I don't quite know what to say....I ... well ... I don't quite know what to say. I'll think on this and be back later.Margihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00380912871792176901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2923792986438866285.post-78519324301103941682013-11-08T14:28:40.507-08:002013-11-08T14:28:40.507-08:00Chances are better than good that we'll never ...Chances are better than good that we'll never have to die for any cause, so we have the luxury of playing the game. I have spent most of my life joyfully being a judgmental cow; feeling superior in my liberalism (every honky who voted for our president feels like they earned the right to a solidarity high five from every black person they meet, though we'd never admit it); feeling so so sure that well, I'm different because I'm so evolved. I am slowly coming to the conclusion that I am, actually, completely full of shit. Because maybe I truly believe that homosexual couples should have every right to marry and that it is completely normal, but I bite my lip and cut my eyes and pretend that the social norm in the area I live is just part of the package. I can be your quirky liberal friend, but I'm harmless because I'm not going to engage or challenge you. The truth is, I am a big chickenshit, and the fact shames me.Kellyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06991384996924478820noreply@blogger.com