"Men hate passion, any great passion. Henry Cameron made a mistake: he loved his work. That was why he fought. That was why he lost."
-Ayn Rand, "The Fountainhead"
I really do believe there is a certain amount of truth in that statement. Passion can be the most infectious agent for change, while simultaneously acting as a barrier to achievement in the traditional sense of the word. American ideals of achievement leave little room for passion and truth! The American Achiever is a strong, masculine, steadfast and professional. Kimmel calls this the "heroic artisan" or, the individual that is self assured, ruggedly independent and self made. When have we ever imagined this ideal to be passionate, engaged and heartfelt? Never!
Passion is too often misunderstood as misdirection, immaturity and idealism.
Passion and engagement will forever be a double edged sword. We're all too worried about "turf" and "what is ours" - I'm absolutely no exception to this and own it entirely. This is very literally my ego at work. Ego is powerful. I firmly believe that ego exists between our head and our heart - it is the constant interruption of how our head and heart communicate (note that our mouth falls directly in-between both).
How does one make passion, engagement and authenticity palatable? Great question
2 comments:
I agree with you about the ego's disabling ability, but the mere fact that you acknowledge it is half the battle, right? It's sometimes difficult to distinguish between passion for the sake of power and that for the sake of achieving/understanding a greater good. Many don't even bother to distinguish the two - Ms. Rand, for example: morality is measured by self-satisfaction.
People can understand the 'heroic artisan' - he knows what he wants and he gets there. It's tangible. When you contrast with "passionate, engaged and heartfelt," it sounds to me like you're talking about individualism v. altruism. It's much more difficult to understand doing things for the sake of goodness - it's such an abstract idea.
Despite that, I think most people still believe there's truth to be found and common goodness to aspire to. While passion and engagement are enabling devices on a personal level, a degree of humility makes them approachable.
Well said on the point of humility, J Moore. After reading the bloggers original conjectures on the American ideal, and it's roots in motivation, I can't help but envision nothing less then the image of what Hispanic cultures refer to as Machismo. Obviously nothing more than a mere personal word association, something programed in me at some point in my life, but worth pointing out none-the-less.
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