A Defensive of Idealism

Alright, so I like to think of myself as an idealist. And while I would prefer this description to let's say the hard-bitten realist or the world-weary cynic or the flatulent pessimist, I've noticed over the years that I and my kind get a few more eye rolls than those other guys. So on behalf of my fellow idealists, I thought I just write up a short defense of our shared outlook.

To some, idealism is for the dreamers, the silly-hearts and merrymakers -- we are young, shamefully innocent, leaking naivete on all fronts. To a degree, this is a fair assessment. I'll admit that I tend to get carried away by my ideals; I like to think in Kennedy quotes, seeing things how they could be and asking why not; but (and maybe this is a symptom of my idealism) I like to think and feel this way and I like people who think and feel similarly. It's inspiring and we're in good company. Think of some of the idealists who have come before: JFK, MLK, Kramer with all his business ventures, and those kids from the old Chicken and Stove Top ads (because most kids would eat their one portion of that delicious breaded chicken and ask why, but those boys weasled their way into two chicken dinners shouting "Why not?" all night long between bites of drumsticks).

For those who will still find our ideals useless and our sentiments saccharine, I just want you to know that our passion is not born of inanity and that most of us have a grasp of the objective realities. Philosophically, Idealism relies on the notion that reality exists through our perception of it. The skeptics, those that promote common sense philosophy, find fault with idealism, claiming that it relies too heavily on a reality that cannot be proven. But that's the point; what separates the idealist from the rest is the ability to tirelessly take leaps of faith no matter how many times reality falls short of the ideal. On a side note: I don't have to tell you that you don't want to be stuck on a long plane ride with a common sense philosopher.

Okay, maybe I didn't do the best job defending idealism, and most likely I just offered another example of typical idealist rhetoric -- lofty yet empty -- but I just want to let other idealists out there to know that you got one more of you out there asking, "Why not?".