by David D. Horowitz
Trust and respect counter public apathy and disgust. Consequently, creating trust and respect is a great calling of the practical idealist.
Now, battling the temptation to cheat excellence is rarely glamorous. You might not win awards for substituting “copper” for “rust” in your poem’s last line, but you might value how such subtlety represents better art and greater accomplishment. You might not win a pennant lifting weights, exercising, practicing for hours on end, and eating healthfully, but refusing to take steroids rewards you with knowledge you did not cheat, and that your record reflects your genuine level of ability. You might lose an election because you did not casually accuse your opponent of being a socialist, terrorist sympathizer, weakling, racist, spendthrift, or criminal, but you can feel good about not having debased public discourse. Your biography might not be written by famous adoring scribes because you refused to steal furniture from your workplace or denigrate a friend from envy, but you will create trust, and trust yields friendships.
Look at the destruction wrought by deceivers obsessed with sales numbers, game points, and vote totals. Compare that to the trust created by those who keep their integrity despite temptations of prosperity and praise. Compare quick, shoddy offerings to the late-ripened efforts of the patient craftsperson. Create a life guided by principles which inspire self-esteem and mutual respect. Here is the ultimate creative solution for practical idealists.