ISSUE99 求拍砖

DolorUID: 2872876

TOPIC: ISSUE99 - "In any realm of life-whether academic, social, business, or political-the only way to succeed is to take a practical, rather than an idealistic, point of view. Pragmatic behavior guarantees survival, whereas idealistic views tend to be superseded by simpler, more immediate options."
WORDS: 519
TIME: 00:49:11
DATE: 2010/8/4 13:30:51

We are living in the present, yet we are having expectations for the future. To hold a practical view, is, to some extent, to focus on the current needs of present, while to hold an idealistic point of view is to hope for tomorrow. Ignoring the present is equal to cease to live, while to turn a blind eye to the future will prevent further development.
When I went to my freshman year in college, my dad told me to set great goals and hold an idealistic point of view--like to be determined to be someone, to make great contributions to the country and the world, and so on. And, two years later, when I ask one of my college fellows that what he is living for, he says, 'Oh, my aim is quite practical---to earn money to fill my stomach and support myself. If you cannot even sustain your survival currently, what is the meaning of idealistic ideas or values in this cruel world?' I think he is right. Survival is the precondition of anything else. Thus, to take a practical point of view is necessary in this sense. Also, in this money-worship world, one important criteria of success of something or someone is how useful it is to our current world. Besides, immediate demands sometimes bear more importance like the current pressing problems the world is faced with now--environment cooperation, terrorism, moral challenges posed by technologies. Before we take an idealistic point of view about our future, current survival must be guaranteed.
However, can you imagine what it will be like if we are over-practical? No ideal depiction of human future will be necessary, since we mostly focus on our current times, no long-term plans. Thus we are only living our currently lives---we hold no ideal or beautiful visions of our future. In academics, pragmatism will result in the stagnancy. As we can see that, physical world is too complex, which calls for idealistic point of views to simplify the world. In business, leaders will be short-sighted and refuse to take into consideration the possible problems the company might face in the future. Thus, when conditions greatly change later, the company is just too vulnerable to go bankruptcy. For most people, too much emphasis on pragmatism means indolence and confusion. Without the guidance of ideals, long-term goals and expectations, people will find it hard to keep struggling and go through difficulties and hardship. Life will deteriorate into suffering.
So, a crucial question arises--how to maintain the balance between idealism and pragmatism?
To be over practical leads to stagnancy, and to be over ideal results in destruction automatically. I suggest that in any realm of life-whether academic, social, business, or political--if you are worrying about basic survival, then be practical enough to sustain living, and ,if you are concerned with further development or progress, then take an idealistic point of view to enable yourself two wings to fly higher.
To sum up, we need to be practical enough to live in the present, and ideal enough live for tomorrow, that is to take a practical point of view for basic needs and hold an idealistic view for higher progress.