Chapter 7 Don't let compromise erode your faith

The great Incompromiseist Ralph Eisenmer said: "If you want to be a mature and attractive person, you can't compromise. A righteous heart is the most sacred thing in the world... I made mistakes because I I was shaken by myself, and I wanted to see what others thought." The end of compromise is enslavement.If you want to get real freedom, you can only take the initiative to meet the challenges of life.We have to jump into the sea of ​​life, work hard, and open up a path for ourselves.Edgar More, a famous war correspondent and author, once said: "If negative attitudes, such as tact, safety, or avoidance of difficulties, shape our personality, then, whoever we are, we will be It cannot be regarded as a person of integrity. Only when a person accepts a heavy responsibility can he reflect his own value. At that time, we have the greatest happiness. Our ancestors said that people who grow up in hardship are healthy."

I have said that if we really have mature personalities, we should not compromise, we should not hide in the crowd, and we should not accept other people's ideas without scrutiny. Some see stubborn people as weirdos, or just as shallow people trying to show off.However, people sometimes have enough courage to support a non-mainstream cause, or stand on the opposite side of the trend.At this moment, it is the bravest performance for a person with firm belief to stand up and speak out for his ideal. Recently, I attended a rally that veered off topic to a controversial issue.All but one guest were on the same page.This is a man who politely avoids a possible argument until someone asks him positively what he thinks about it.He smiled and said: "I hope you haven't asked me this question, this is a public place, and my opinion is fundamentally different from that of everyone here, but since you asked, I will say a few words."Then, he He presented his point of view in turn.He was surrounded by all kinds of dissenting voices in his debates with people. He was alone and helpless, but he didn't budge an inch and insisted on his ideas.He can't convince others, but because of his uncompromising, he also won people's respect for him.It seemed easier for him to agree with others, but he didn't.

Educator Walter Barbie said that people often cultivate children's superficial virtues, such as gregariousness, popularization, adjustment to obey the requirements of the group, and other personalities that conform to the requirements of social ideals.Mr. Barbie said, we never leave any room for lonely children.But if our schools are to produce the happiest and best citizens of the future, there must be room for special children.That kid might not like baseball, he only likes reading; he doesn't like football, he only likes music.We should allow him to be different and not be seen as socially unfit.

Any parent who has the audacity to speak out and tell the school how his child should be educated is a brave parent.And parents often hear advice: OK, leave the problem to the experts.One such person I knew was a young man in the suburbs who protested the way his son was being taught in school.He is a very confident and uncompromising man, constantly asking questions and attacking the prevailing educational philosophy.A year later, he became a representative of his community's board of education.Now, his children and hundreds of other children in the community have become the beneficiaries of education reform.It was that night that the idea of ​​reform was brought up, and at the meeting he spoke his thoughts before the whole community.

The conflict over "compromising and not compromising" has aroused the great attention of Princeton University President Harold Dodds. In the summer of 1955, at the baccalaureate conferral ceremony at Princeton University, he delivered a speech entitled "Being a Man of Independent Thinking."He warned the graduates: "You compromise under pressure and change things that do not conform to the so-called common sense. However, no matter how heavy the pressure is, if you have a truly independent soul, you will find that compromise will only bring you a sense of loss. .You have made many efforts to justify your concessions. It turns out that all are in vain. You have nothing to gain except the loss of your self-esteem. Even if compromises can bring you short-term satisfaction, but , you’re not in charge of yourself. If you’re a real human being, your abandoned desires, your resistance to following the crowd, will keep you at peace from time to time.”

In 1955, Union University in Schenectady, New York, hired Sir Percy Spencer, the Australian ambassador to the United States, as chancellor emeritus.He said at the inauguration ceremony: "Life gives us the opportunity to maximize our talents. We owe debts to the country, society and our own families. We are born to repay the debts. If we don't want to live in vain, we should It is our duty to repay our debts. If we do not fulfill our responsibilities, we will not have the orderly social environment we have now, and we will not be able to express our individuality or develop our talents. We are pursuing happiness We have the right to perfect and develop our own individuality during our journey. We perfect ourselves for ourselves, for those we love, for our fellow human beings. In short, we perfect ourselves for the sake of all human beings.”

Only a person with a mature personality has the ability to appreciate the potential strength of others.Only a mature mind can proudly say that he is only a little lower than an angel, and not that he is much higher than a monkey.For such a person, compromise does not become a reality, it is just a word.Because people like him always firmly believe that the mind is complete and the independent soul is sacred and inviolable.