People… Principles… and Popularity

In a moving and most meaningful utterance, the Master of mankind thus prayed for those whom the Lord God had given him: “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”¹ This question of being in the world but not of it, is a question of increasing concern — because, in effect, the world is ever shrinking in size — and we come ever closer to the influence and attitudes of others — and there is ever more compelling pressure to be as others are, to do as others do, with questions of compromise and of preserving principles — how far to go, how different to be, how to live comfortably among men. One of life’s most important problems is learning to get along with the people with whom we live in the world, without compromising principles, and one of the plausible ways of getting along with people is to make concessions pertaining to principle — to go the way of the world, whatever way that is, which no one really knows, because the world has so many different ways. It is quite impossible to do everything everyone else wants us to do or to please all people, because everyone else wants us to do something different, and abandoning principles is no solution to the problem of getting along with people. Indeed, it is false and foolish to suppose that compromising principles will win the respect or acceptance of anyone. Compromising principles isn’t getting along with people; it is simply surrender; it is simply self-betrayal. And he who betrays himself is never solidly accepted or respected anywhere by anyone. Others often judge us not so much by their standards as by our own — by what they know we believe — and we disappoint and disillusion other people when we depart from our own principles. A person who is untrue to himself is seldom trusted by anyone, ever. In his famous essay on old age, Cicero said: “As a general truth, as it seems to me, it is weariness of all pursuits that creates weariness of life.”² And one thing that adds weariness and disillusionment to life is trying to be all things to everyone, instead of simply trying to be true. We lose face and deceive ourselves, when we seek supposed popularity or the supposed approval of other people at the price of principle. The only way to get along with others, is to be what we know we ought to be, to do what we know we ought to do, to give respect and to deserve respect, and not betray ourselves by compromising principles.