Flame — HabitableZone

Flame » in reply to Then maybe you know how I feel when I come here.

On the other hand...
TB — (archived)

The great changes in our world, both for good and for evil, have come from angry young men (old ones, too. And not all men by any means.)

Harnessed to a reasoning brain, anger and indignation can be powerful forces for positive change. It then manifests as inspiration, determination, moral resolution, and persuasiveness. I can think of many great people in history that fall into this category.

Without the reason, you tend to end up with just another mob leader at best, and some of the greatest monsters in history at worst.

Like Captain Kirk found out in "The Enemy Within," the "animal" side of human nature is essential to leadership. There are subtler points made in the script. One is that the "good" side of Kirk could have survived quite nicely in a normal, non-stressful life. The "evil" side would not have been able to function in any normal society at all. Another is that the intelligent side must always be the dominant one for the integration to succeed. (The episode was written by Richard Matheson, a superb writer responsible for an enormous number of novels and screenplays that are classics of the genre.)

You don't need to be an "angry young man" to have a good life. But it seems to help if you're going to make big changes in the world.

Log in or register to post.

The whole thread (51 posts)