Private Opinion
Please comment on one or both of the following quotations by Thoreau:
"Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate."
"Age is no better, hardly so well, qualified for an instructor as youth, for it has not profited so much as it has lost...Practically, the old have no very important advice to give the young, their own experience has been so partial, and their lives have been such miserable failures...they are only less young than they were."
To what extent do you agree or disagree with Thoreau? What questions do these statements raise?
"Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate."
"Age is no better, hardly so well, qualified for an instructor as youth, for it has not profited so much as it has lost...Practically, the old have no very important advice to give the young, their own experience has been so partial, and their lives have been such miserable failures...they are only less young than they were."
To what extent do you agree or disagree with Thoreau? What questions do these statements raise?
posted by Kristin L | 8:32 PM
3 Comments:
Thoreau has a lot on his mind that it seems to have so much more public thought on private business, so it rather indicates his fate along those lines, so I say at random. I'm not sure how old he was when he wrote about 'youth' and 'age' but he sounds like the past had nothing to give him for a future, do I sense some bitterness? Or is this just a sad observation that notes the day and age of his life at the moment? :)
Megan- I'm totally with you about the whole adults not understanding thing because times really have changed and it IS very different. But I have gotten really amazing advice from youth leaders (Kapila, Jen, and Kristina) that actually was relevant. And yea, they're older than my parents, but I don't think their age makes them "miserable failures" because in my opinion they truly are very knowledgable and the ones who will admitt that times are different and that is probably is harder to be a teenager now seem to be a lot more helpful and understanding.
As for the first quote, how can a public opinion be both weak and a tyrant. For as long as I've known, a tyrant is a controlling and manipulating person/thing that usually isn't doing anything positive. Plus, I think sharing ideas and opinions opens peoples minds and creates new ways of thinking. What a person thinks of themselves does truly determine their fate and lives, but does not mean it can't be influenced along the way.
Notice that only girls have posted here.... haha.
I agree ten fold with Thoreau's first statement. In reality, all we have is ourselves and what we truly believe in. When others try to take that away from us, they reduce us to nothing, literally nothing. When you don't make your own decisions, you are but a puppet in this game of life. So truly the only opinion that matters is yours. It matters not what others think of you, what others think of your opinions and what others think of your morals. But rather only what you think counts. And if you cannot see this, your fate is most certainly sealed, in my opinion of course!
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