I have deep philosophical musings for you! Aren't you excited??? Even a little bit? No? Well, read it anyway, it'll make you question things.
Ever heard the expression "Actions Speak Louder than Words"? Usually said when in situations like when you're caught saying "I'll save that person dangling from a rapidly fraying rope over that pit of lava" and then do nothing about it. People will jump all over you for not living up to your word, claiming that you can talk the talk but you can't walk the walk. "Actions Speak Louder than Words! Now Jimmy is Magma Food!"
Alright, that makes sense, you hurt somebody by not taking action. But, what happens if you flip it? Ah, this becomes quite philosophical now, because it seems as though people only like to use "Actions Speak Louder than Words" to criticize an individual, not to defend them. Consider the following scenario:
"God, I hate Mitch, he's constantly putting me down, being really sarcastic, and generally condescending."
"But he helps you with your homework, fronts you money for food, and helps you keep your life organized!"
"It doesn't matter, he's too rude, I can't take it! I hate him!"
This happens quite often. To me. lol. I'm a very dry, sarcastic, sometimes overbearing individual. Am I a bad person? Absolutely not, I was raised right and have very good morals. On the surface I seem pretty crusty but when it really matters I'm always there to help and defend people. My actions speak for who I truly am, not my words. In theory, "Actions Speak Louder than Words" should compensate for my "on the surface appearance" but it doesn't. Why? Why can't it go both ways? Instead of saying "It doesn't matter, he's too rude, I can't take it! I hate him!" why can't people say "You're right. He does everything he can to help me. Words really don't matter so much, his actions help me more than words could ever hurt me."
Think about it, you know I'm right. So, next time somebody is being really dry, sarcastic, or even seems rude, wait to see if it's just their words or if it's everything about them. Remember, Actions Speak Louder than Words.
Words speak louder than actions if the person saying them is really loud because everyone knows that the loudest voice is always right regardless of what they're actually saying.
ReplyDeleteVery deep, I like it! :P I've actually thought about that before but not in depth or anything. I'm always getting made fun of cause I say some stupid stuff sometimes and believe stupid stuff too (I'm pretty gullible), but I'm always nice to people and help them out and yet there are a lot of people in my school that really hate my guts and I have no reason why haha. Oh well, their loss! :P
ReplyDeleteTrue! I wrote about a strikingly similar subject recently as well. After helping one of my friends after they were broken up with by being there, and doing nice things for them, they take one thing I said and in some way it negates all the good I did for them. Unfortunately for us snively, reputational energy is not conserved for shallow conclusions! (my oh my, I made a physics joke...)
ReplyDeleteMakes sense, but then will this really be the case everytime? Sometimes, words do speak louder than actions. Hurtful ones especially.... But anyhow, a very different post from you :)
ReplyDeleteSomeone said at face that you hurt her( high probability for a girl here..) and that hurt ya because you never thought to do so...The case is this?
ReplyDeleteI think, fundamentally, both words and actions are part and parcel of what makes you who you are. I find your sense of humor to be amusing, though I can also understand why some people could over-react to it at times.
ReplyDeleteI don't really know what's going on in your personal life. But my friends have sometimes criticized my behavior, and each time, they were practically 100% correct. If people you trust are telling you that they have issues with the way you speak or act, it would probably be a good idea to take them seriously.
Just a little friendly advice from someone who's been there.
Hey Snively, I don't think I ever thanked you for linking my blog, http://justinsnotepad.blogspot.com/, on the admissions web site! I have had over 200 people visit it since then and have met some other really cool MIT applicants. Thank you again and I hope to see you there! :)
ReplyDeleteSarcasm is the mana that replenishes my Life Points.
ReplyDelete