This week's posts have been devoted to two opposing views of the world. One view holds that individuals are responsible for themselves, can overcome circumstantial obstacles, and choose to be successful in their own unique ways. The other view believes in lack of opportunity, systemic inequity, and collective blame. One view stands for personal empowerment, the other for social victimhood. But let me tie all of this back to English.
We all (should have) learned as children that sentences are made up of subjects and objects, among other things. Subjects are words that do the actions of the verbs, while objects are those words that receive such actions. "I bought Susie some ice cream" gives us "I" as the subject and "Susie" as the indirect object (with "ice cream" as the direct object). "I" performs the action. "Susie" receives the action. Indirect objects usually reveal "to whom" or "for whom." They are passive. Actions happen to/for them.
With each passing year of adulthood, I continue to notice a sad trend among people I meet. Whether they be students in my classes or people in various businesses or anyone else, there are those in this world that always seem to have life happening "to" them. The teacher was unfair to them. The customer didn't call them back. The government didn't help them. The spouse was annoying them. The boss didn't respect them. Granted, we are social beings in an ever-changing environment, so facing complications with those around us is a given. But there are people who constantly live in this passive state, whose very mode of existence is reliant upon others for the decisions they make and actions they take. Initiative is low. Excuses are common. And stagnancy is inevitable. These are people who have decided to live their lives as objects, rather than subjects.
This worldview is especially common among those who struggle the most. But living as an object is not only hopeless, it is illogical. No social structure forces people to deal drugs. No oppressive hegemony forces people to continue dating abusive idiots. No conspiratorial cabal forces people to buy homes, cars, or college educations they cannot afford. No economic inequality forces people to disregard fundamental intellectual and social skills, such as reading, writing, articulate speech, and basic politeness. The world is not happening to them. They should be acting upon their world. They should become subjects in their own lives.
On Wednesday, I quoted a few lines from a recent speech that claimed luck is a primary determinant in success and that there are countless people just as smart and talented--they just weren't as lucky. For such believers, people are simply objects. This disrespectful outlook encourages them to be passive agents, like passengers on a cosmic train over which they have no control. This is the epitome of uninspiring rhetoric. And it negates the drive within each human to strive for improvement, to have a voice, to make a difference.
I prefer a different mindset. President Calvin Coolidge once said, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
You are the difference--your personal initiative to stand up and say, "No, I will not live like this. I will do better. I will work harder. I will take charge of this situation and prepare for my future." No one else can do this for you. This is what it means to be a subject in life.
Those of you who may be graduating from high school or college right now have a choice to make. Will you face the world in front of you like those I mentioned in Monday's column, or with the attitude depicted in Wednesday's column? Will you simply hope for "luck" and look to others to determine your success in life? Or will you choose to be the master of your fate and the captain of your soul?
Subjects and objects are not just tedious parts of a grammatical education. They can be a key to your whole life. You are not an accident, and the world is not just happening to you. The verbs of life need to be done by someone--will you be the active subject or the passive object? The decision of which one you will embrace, as always, is up to you.
We all (should have) learned as children that sentences are made up of subjects and objects, among other things. Subjects are words that do the actions of the verbs, while objects are those words that receive such actions. "I bought Susie some ice cream" gives us "I" as the subject and "Susie" as the indirect object (with "ice cream" as the direct object). "I" performs the action. "Susie" receives the action. Indirect objects usually reveal "to whom" or "for whom." They are passive. Actions happen to/for them.
With each passing year of adulthood, I continue to notice a sad trend among people I meet. Whether they be students in my classes or people in various businesses or anyone else, there are those in this world that always seem to have life happening "to" them. The teacher was unfair to them. The customer didn't call them back. The government didn't help them. The spouse was annoying them. The boss didn't respect them. Granted, we are social beings in an ever-changing environment, so facing complications with those around us is a given. But there are people who constantly live in this passive state, whose very mode of existence is reliant upon others for the decisions they make and actions they take. Initiative is low. Excuses are common. And stagnancy is inevitable. These are people who have decided to live their lives as objects, rather than subjects.
This worldview is especially common among those who struggle the most. But living as an object is not only hopeless, it is illogical. No social structure forces people to deal drugs. No oppressive hegemony forces people to continue dating abusive idiots. No conspiratorial cabal forces people to buy homes, cars, or college educations they cannot afford. No economic inequality forces people to disregard fundamental intellectual and social skills, such as reading, writing, articulate speech, and basic politeness. The world is not happening to them. They should be acting upon their world. They should become subjects in their own lives.
On Wednesday, I quoted a few lines from a recent speech that claimed luck is a primary determinant in success and that there are countless people just as smart and talented--they just weren't as lucky. For such believers, people are simply objects. This disrespectful outlook encourages them to be passive agents, like passengers on a cosmic train over which they have no control. This is the epitome of uninspiring rhetoric. And it negates the drive within each human to strive for improvement, to have a voice, to make a difference.
I prefer a different mindset. President Calvin Coolidge once said, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
You are the difference--your personal initiative to stand up and say, "No, I will not live like this. I will do better. I will work harder. I will take charge of this situation and prepare for my future." No one else can do this for you. This is what it means to be a subject in life.
Those of you who may be graduating from high school or college right now have a choice to make. Will you face the world in front of you like those I mentioned in Monday's column, or with the attitude depicted in Wednesday's column? Will you simply hope for "luck" and look to others to determine your success in life? Or will you choose to be the master of your fate and the captain of your soul?
Subjects and objects are not just tedious parts of a grammatical education. They can be a key to your whole life. You are not an accident, and the world is not just happening to you. The verbs of life need to be done by someone--will you be the active subject or the passive object? The decision of which one you will embrace, as always, is up to you.