LIBERALS ARE TOO EAGER TO SHARE THE WHINE; RATHER THAN COMPLAIN OVER INJUSTICE WE SHOULD TAKE PRIDE IN OUR VICTORIES.Byline: Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 - 30 January 1916) was a literary and Jewish historian. He was a writer for the Jewish Encyclopaedia and a notable folklorist, creating several noteworthy collections of fairy tales. Nobody likes whiners but they are all around us. My liberal friends have this obnoxious self-righteous attitude, yet they whine all the time. Speak to them of the marvelous creation of new jobs by entrepreneurs over the past 10 years and they quote some obscure statistic statistic, n a value or number that describes a series of quantitative observations or measures; a value calculated from a sample. statistic a numerical value calculated from a number of observations in order to summarize them. to indicate that there is an increased gap between the highest- and the lowest-paid. So what, I say, is that a reason not to celebrate the increased employment? Must we find some dark vision to dampen our sense of pride? Do the liberals whine because the free market economy which they try to hobble hobble leather straps fastened around the pasterns of horses, mules and donkeys. Placed on all four legs and pulled together by a rope, it provides an effective means of casting the horse. has caused those jobs to be created? Why not celebrate even small steps forward? I suspect it is because an ideology which they bad-mouth bad·mouth or bad-mouth tr.v. bad·mouthed, bad·mouth·ing, bad·mouths Informal To criticize or disparage, often spitefully or unfairly: has proven them wrong, time and again. If they face reality and acknowledge that they were wrong, then we have a shared lesson that will lead us to a better life. Instead they whine. What image does whining evoke? Children complaining about the world around them. When they finally find that they must take the responsibility to change what they whine about, they become adults. The political leaders of various ethnic groups are classic whiners. They play the ``blame game.'' Constantly reminding us of past prejudices and injustices, their whining makes us feel guilty. I wonder if that is the best way of motivating us to wipe away our prejudices and to change our ways of relating to relating to relate prep → concernant relating to relate prep → bezüglich +gen, mit Bezug auf +acc each other. Wouldn't it be better, I ask, if a person stood with his or her head held high, announcing proudly, I am a human being and I, like all others, have strengths and weaknesses. The color of my skin or my ethnic origin is irrelevant to me and should be to you. I want to and will compete with you in skills, integrity and dedication. I want equal opportunity to compete and am willing to accept my own limitations as everyone else does. I want a level playing field See net neutrality. , not one tilted because of my ``minority'' status. The opposite of whining is pride - pride in all of those human traits that are admirable. Whining is a downer down·er n. A depressant or sedative drug, such as a barbiturate or tranquilizer. , pride is an upper. Pride speaks of self-esteem, whining is demeaning de·mean 1 tr.v. de·meaned, de·mean·ing, de·means To conduct or behave (oneself) in a particular manner: demeaned themselves well in class. . I am not a Pollyanna. I know the cruelties of life. But is my pain any less than yours? There is no objective standard of comparison. Each of us has a just cause to whine, but to what avail? Whining is for the weak, for those who feel sorry for themselves though the world may not care. Pride is admired, whining is deplored. One can deplore de·plore tr.v. de·plored, de·plor·ing, de·plores 1. To feel or express strong disapproval of; condemn: "Somehow we had to master events, not simply deplore them" injustices and can take positive steps to restore justice, whereas whining indicates helplessness. Accepting responsibility for one's condition comes with maturity. The ``blame game'' is immature. It's a way of avoiding responsibility. Marching on Selma was a proud move. Refusing to sit in the back of the bus was a proud move. Studying hard and becoming a doctor or lawyer or research scientist is a proud move. Pride comes from action. Ambition is nothing more than pride put into action. Will it lead to success automatically? No. Success is obtained by persistent attempts at realizing a proud dream. Despite weaknesses that are an intrinsic part of us, pride is that which makes us and our society advance. Pride impels action whereas whining is passive and nonproductive non·pro·duc·tive adj. 1. Not yielding or producing: nonproductive land. 2. Not engaged in the direct production of goods: nonproductive personnel. n. . Away with the whiners and all power to the activists! |
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