Quote:
Originally Posted by Triple_R
That makes no sense to me. You're basically saying that people can't change their mind or their approach to life, which is simply false. So, no, you haven't "already lost" just because you're trying to persuade someone to take the bigger picture into consideration here.
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Unless you're a masochist you will naturally gravitate to what you want. If you've already decided that you don't want to make use of your talents then they've likely already consciously or unconsciously weighed up their mind which path they'd be happier under. Asking someone to change their approach in life is a big ask, especially when it involves asking them to go down a path that would, from a theoretical view, only benefit the masses at the expense of themselves. You can't force yourself to be altruistic.
Quote:
"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy
That's probably his most famous quote. It's not hard to extend it to... "Ask not what your world can do for you - ask what you can do for your world."
Isn't that a good attitude to encourage yourself and other people to have? Especially people with exceptional abilities, talents, and/or power for obvious pragmatic reasons?
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That sounds like you definitely want her to put the masses ahead of her own desires, which is very different from the more moderate stance you're still arguing for.
But again it depends on the situation. If there's no unreasonable sacrifices in doing so then yeah sure, but it's not always for everyone. Very few perspectives are.