Defeated Idealism

It kind of bothers me that some idealists despite their best efforts, are defeated because they couldn't live up to their ideals or are betrayed by them. Granted, I am not an super idealist or a bitter cynic but I really hate to see such people get destroyed because of the crapsack world we live. There was an example on a trope page where a deviantart artist wrote how the real world basically sucks and she no longer drawing any pictures, I forgot her name and it may not be a good example but she made such great art. I hate to see such idealism get defeated that that way but I guess it is as Amuro said about how idealists often get disappointed when their ideals don't match with the real world. With that said, what do you think of defeated idealists?

"We are just like Irregular Data. And that applies to you too, Ri CO. And as for you, Player... your job is to correct Irregular Data."

The sort of idealism that's defeated by reality is nothing but naivety. An idealist should acknowledge that the real world is nothing even close to their ideals; for me, idealism and cynicism aren't contradictory at all. To be an idealist is to maintain those ideals even when there's no hope of them being fully realized. That the real world often sucks is a given, and if one's ideals are contingent upon denying reality, they're not worthwhile from the start.

Not living up to your ideals should be normal, to some extent — if your ideals are something you can actually achieve, you need higher ideals. Being betrayed by your ideals, on the other hand, might be a sign that those ideals were flawed to begin with. If your ideals conflict with each other or with what you actually believe to be right, that's cause to analyze them more carefully.

I'd say reconciling those two would be more like realism, but point still stands.

Insert witty and clever quip here. My page, as the database hates my handle.

You could call it realism, I guess, but I still have strong ideals that have a pretty "idealistic" feel to them. I just don't expect them to have any chance at succeeding in my lifetime. (I'm also tempted to say that cynicism and realism are indistinguishable for all practical purposes, but someone would probably prove me wrong with an example of cynicism that goes well beyond what's reasonable.)

If I give in and start buying shit I don't need on credit and dropping litter about the place, then I'll count myself defeated.

I'd probably literally explode first.

If I'm still me when I go out, I win.

edited 16th Aug '12 4:31:02 PM by InverurieJones

'All he needs is for somebody to throw handgrenades at him for the rest of his life...'

If you realize that we live in a Crapsack World, yet still hold onto high ideals, you're going to be really depressed. You know how you want things to be, yet you know why they can't be that way, and it takes its toll on you. I speak from experience.

How dare you disrupt the sanctity of my soliloquy?

@Brain Sewage: I disagree.

Fact of the matter is, while it may be near-impossible to make the world live up to one's ideals, it is always possible to make the world a better place.

That is what idealists should strive for.

That is what I strive for.

Idealism does not get defeated. Not in the face of disease, nor violence, nor confinement, nor poverty, nor even death. That's the point of idealism - it is a motivation, not an end to itself. Naiveté can be defeated, as can a rose-coloured perception of the world, but idealism? Ideals are far stronger than that.

That's why we have them.

"Lock up your girlfriends, lock up your wives, Grim's on the loose so run for your lives." - Pyrite

The irony of having that avatar... it's... awesome. xD

Giant flying sharks are very idealistic. :3

ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᓈᒻᒪᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ

I meant the OP.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. :o I dun get it. :3

ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᓈᒻᒪᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ

The person in his avatar has orange hair! It's like... a totally clever pun!

Uhm, okay. :o Orange you going to explain it? >.>

ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᓈᒻᒪᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ

NO!

Aw. :<

ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᓈᒻᒪᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ

Ah yes, I noticed that, too. Which reminds me, my point can be summed up nicely in those terms: Kiritsugu's idealism is the good kind. Shirou's not so much.

The avatar is Shirou, from Fate Stay Night. He's extremely idealistic — in a really naive way, in my opinion.

Ohh, okay! :O Thanks. :3

ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᓈᒻᒪᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ

Kiritsugu's is the good kind? Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh. xDD

... Anime fans.

Always so confusing.

"Lock up your girlfriends, lock up your wives, Grim's on the loose so run for your lives." - Pyrite

I'm as much of an anime fan as I am a film fan.

Which means I like some, but not the whole genre medium.

@kay: I'm not surprised you disagree, but if you've seen my frequent advocacy for utilitarianism, you shouldn't find it unexpected that I think so.

Hehe. :p

ᐅᖃᐅᓯᖅ ᐊᑕᐅᓯᖅ ᓈᒻᒪᔪᐃᑦᑐᖅ

I've only really ever watched Gundam series and Witch Hunter Robin.

I watched Inuyasha as a kid, as well as Naruto, but they both got really boring really quickly.

Dragon Ball Z doesn't even count as anything but a right of passage for kids from the 90s. (Same for Pokemon and Digimon)

"Lock up your girlfriends, lock up your wives, Grim's on the loose so run for your lives." - Pyrite

"INUYASHA!!"

"KAGOME!!"

The best thing I can say about Kiritsugu is... that his hairstyle was pretty cool!

edited 17th Aug '12 12:07:12 AM by kay4today

@Kay: I was actually expecting "SIT BOY!"

"Lock up your girlfriends, lock up your wives, Grim's on the loose so run for your lives." - Pyrite