People of Action

It seems to me that very few people are people of action. The majority of people in this world are not people of action but they rely on people of action to make their worlds safe and orderly. But once order has been maintained after a while these non-action people turn on the persons of action that helped balance their world.

I know I had just read or heard something that sparked this thought but I cannot remember what exactly it was. However, I do remember the perfect example of this thought. The experience of U.S. Marshall Wyatt Earp. Dodge City was a hell-hole and he cleaned that place up. Twice! People of non-action have very short memories. Wyatt Earp went into Dodge City and took care of the criminal elements and maintained law and order. NO COMPROMISES! To quote a character from a very good movie, Batman Begins, "Criminals thrive on the indulgence of society's understanding." I'm fairly certain way back in Wyatt's time he understood that and tolerated nothing that was against the law. Perfect example of a man of action. However, the populace he was tasked to protect was comprised of non-action people and they are usually very tolerant. They became distrustful of the man they tasked to keep them safe and turned on him, so he left, leaving his more affable but less intense friend to take care of Dodge. Not long after, that friend was shot and Dodge reverted to a lawless city once again. Them damn people begged Wyatt to come back, which he did and cleaned the damned place up once again. Don't get me wrong, I understand the need for tolerance and compassion but in some things there is just no compromise. If Wyatt had no compassion or tolerance he would have never went back to Dodge or became a US Marshall for that matter. You have to care about people to want to keep them safe.

For those who want to know what I'm talking about see the excellent film Wyatt Earp, starring Kevin Costner.

I think if more people learned to act, for instance learned so form of martial art, then there would be less tolerance for criminality as a whole. Learning how to defend oneself is a catalyst to not tolerating negative aggression towards self and the community in which one lives.