Before seeing this subthread, I interpreted it almost exactly opposite. I thought of “I want the world to be saved” as just that, but “I want to save the world” as meaning “I want the world to be saved, and I am willing to work toward this goal myself.” Sort of along the lines of this exchange from Terry Prachett’s The Wee Free Men:
‘Ah. Something bad is happening.’
Tiffany looked worried.
‘Can I stop it?’
‘And now I’m slightly impressed,’ said Miss Tick. ’You said, “Can I stop it?”, not “Can
anyone stop it?” or “Can we stop it?” That’s good. You accept responsibility. That’s a good start.
When I say that I want to save the world, that’s what I try to mean.
‘And now I’m slightly impressed,’ said Miss Tick. ’You said, “Can I stop it?”, not “Can anyone stop it?” or “Can we stop it?” That’s good. You accept responsibility. That’s a good start.
I personally think it is a horrible start. That is the kind of start that leads to young men with boxcutters boarding airplanes, with the Crusades as one intermediate step in the causal chain. It is the kind of start that leads to brave little fellows in kilts bashing everyone around them with clubs just to demonstrate their manhood.
The kind of start I would prefer Tiffany to make would begin with a different question: “Oh, what is happening? And how do we know it is bad?”.
I would prefer that the Ravenclaws figure out what it is that needs to be done, before the Griffindors and Hufflepuffs start chanting “I want to do something!” and begin to look around for a Slytherin to suggest something for them to do.
Don’t take this personally. I don’t think that you or anyone else reading this blog is a potential terrorist. But I came of age in the sixties and knew quite a few people who were involved in radical politics. And quite a few more people in the military. The slogan back then was “By whatever means necessary.” And it still amazes me how many horrible things got done just because people were unwilling to show lack of commitment to the cause. Because when you commit to action in the abstract, and believe that the end justifies the means, it becomes a contest to find the means that most conclusively demonstrates one’s allegiance to the end.
So “I want the world to be saved, and I am willing to work toward this goal myself.” is not something I like to hear. Nor is “I, as an individual, accept responsibility for the fate of the world.” I would much rather hear, “Here is what is wrong and here is how we can fix it. Won’t you help me convince enough other people of this?”
Before seeing this subthread, I interpreted it almost exactly opposite. I thought of “I want the world to be saved” as just that, but “I want to save the world” as meaning “I want the world to be saved, and I am willing to work toward this goal myself.” Sort of along the lines of this exchange from Terry Prachett’s The Wee Free Men:
When I say that I want to save the world, that’s what I try to mean.
I personally think it is a horrible start. That is the kind of start that leads to young men with boxcutters boarding airplanes, with the Crusades as one intermediate step in the causal chain. It is the kind of start that leads to brave little fellows in kilts bashing everyone around them with clubs just to demonstrate their manhood.
The kind of start I would prefer Tiffany to make would begin with a different question: “Oh, what is happening? And how do we know it is bad?”.
I would prefer that the Ravenclaws figure out what it is that needs to be done, before the Griffindors and Hufflepuffs start chanting “I want to do something!” and begin to look around for a Slytherin to suggest something for them to do.
Don’t take this personally. I don’t think that you or anyone else reading this blog is a potential terrorist. But I came of age in the sixties and knew quite a few people who were involved in radical politics. And quite a few more people in the military. The slogan back then was “By whatever means necessary.” And it still amazes me how many horrible things got done just because people were unwilling to show lack of commitment to the cause. Because when you commit to action in the abstract, and believe that the end justifies the means, it becomes a contest to find the means that most conclusively demonstrates one’s allegiance to the end.
So “I want the world to be saved, and I am willing to work toward this goal myself.” is not something I like to hear. Nor is “I, as an individual, accept responsibility for the fate of the world.” I would much rather hear, “Here is what is wrong and here is how we can fix it. Won’t you help me convince enough other people of this?”