Aside
Literally speaking
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The phrase “it’s better to light a candle than curse the darkness” is a very slight alteration on the less common Chinese proverb “‘Don’t curse the darkness - light a candle.” The advice given is “if something is wrong, do something about it rather than complain.”
This is usually good advice, after all, who of us hasn’t solved the world’s problems in a pub, with a few friends? So why not, instead of asking, “why don’t they do this?” do it yourself. It is the point demonstrated in one scene of the Life of Brian by Monty Python, in which the People’s Front of Judea talk extensively about how they’ve got to stop talking and take action.
However it could be a bad thing. Some readers of the more suggestive newspapers would be ill advised to take action on what they believe to be a problem. After all, it is probably better to blame everything on the Immigrants, than to chuck them all out. Perhaps it should be added that “if it is night, and most people are trying to sleep, please don’t light a candle because the minority wants to read”.
The phrase itself found fame when Adlai Stevenson said of Eleanor Roosevelt “She would rather light candles than curse the darkness, and her glow has warmed the world,” in an address to the United Nations general assembly given in 1962.
some issues are two sided, one just really has to exercise sound judgment. or use a reading lamp. *wink*
Meeya’s last blog post..WW07: Spring Break
Hi !!
I saw your blog through ate kengkays’ linklist :))
This is a good one! It sent me thinking … reflecting …
I guess it is easier to point out and make a summary of everything that is “wrong”, “not normal” or “not right” than doing something to solve them.
In pointing out what’s wrong, we only need to speak.
Solving them means thinking and moving those muscles.
eyna’s last blog post..Rotting within
i think this should be plastered all over the country so people will wake up to that fact than just continue being reactive to situations and complain. halata bang asar ako sa mga extreme activist groups?