Brewing Coffee
| |
Brewing Coffee |
About Me What's This blog about? Lets talk! Archives
Views |
Thursday, January 3, 2008 To Be Or Not To Be Ralph Nader is an activist and politician who ran for president in 1996 and 2000 as a candidate for the Green Party. Nader became the best-known consumer advocate in the U.S., lecturing widely and forming non-profit groups like Public Citizen, whose stated goal was to protect consumers against corporate carelessness and greed. And this is an account of his life that helped him make his choice on what he wanted to be.....In the early forties, when Ralph Nader was a fourth grader, it was common for boys of 1st to 3rd grade to wear shorts while the older boys wore long pants. There was a distinct difference between shorts and long pants. Boys wearing shorts were considered little boys or sissy. Young Ralph was teased mercilessly by the boys in his class for wearing shorts to school everyday. Taunted by the constant ridicule, Young Ralph returned home from school, one day, looking miserable. His mother had noticed the difference in her son. He told his mother, on the verge of tears, how all the other boys in the fourth grade were wearing long pants. "Why can't I? The boys are laughing at me," he said. "Tell me why you want to wear long pants?" she asked gently. He thought for a moment and answered, "Because all the other boys are wearing long pants." That obviously was not the answer his mother wanted to hear. She stood up from the ktichen table, "Ralph, are you going to grow up to be a leader or a follower?" she asked and walked out of the kitchen before he could say another word. Young Ralph was pretty savvy for his age and he understood what she was getting at. As much as he wanted to be a leader, he just wanted to be one wearing long pants. The very next morning, things were not very much different when he went to his school in his shorts.  That afternoon, on the playground behind the school, a group of boys was having races to see who was the fastest in the class. Ralph lined up for the race to the chagrin of some of the boys. They were all in their long pants but he was the only one wearing his shorts. When the race began, Ralph ran as fast as he could. He had a distinct advantage in his shorts over the boys who wore the long pants. At first the only sound he heard was that of his heart pounding. Then the sounds of laboured breathing as the other boys closed in behind him, and then the yelling and cheering of the little crowd that had amassed on the side of the field. Guess who won? That was a turning point in Ralph Nader's life. He felt self-confident and began to see that being different could be a source of strength. His mother had helped him to understand that a leader need not care about being mocked for his or her unique views, and that one person can make a difference. If you want to change the world, or just your community, you need to be the kind of person who is willing to run life's race in short pants. The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy - Martin Luther King, Jr. Labels: Inspiration |
