Rainy Day philosophical question... courtesy of Soul Pancake...

Link to get you thinking...

Motivation Station
Friday, October 9, 2009 - LIFES BIG QUESTIONS

Is it just us or are those motivational posters more depressing than encouraging? We think a compelling motivational speech (though rare) provides a much better kick in the gut. A good speech makes the hair on your arms stand on end, takes you from apathy to rally cry, and makes you suddenly prepared to take on the world.

What speech has most motivated you?

For me some of the big ones I'll always remember from my youth, my mother LOVES this country and was very
progressive for her time so she made sure we were aware of the political climate around us...
MLK's I have a dream, JFK's inaugural address are treasured oratory to me.

Elie Wiesel's 1999 "Perils of Indifference" speech made me think, hurt and cry when I first read it. This excerpt in particular
Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. Wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were -- strangers to their surroundings. They no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. They feared nothing. They felt nothing. They were dead and did not know it.

Add yours, if you want to pass some time on this dreary day!!! THey don't have to be political, or serious either, some of the best speeches I've ever seen use humor and brevity to make the point!!!!

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Message edited 3/4/2010 3:32:58 PM.

Re: Rainy Day philosophical question... courtesy of Soul Pancake...

Yeah it's Rainn Wilson's side project (a/k/a Dwight from the Office)!
It's a *really* interesting site, lots of content and "BIG" questions!!!

Guess no one felt like playing today!

Re: Rainy Day philosophical question... courtesy of Soul Pancake...

Mine isn't exactly a speech - or a monologue even but it's this exchange from the the play "Angels in America Part II: Perestroika" - Act 3, Scene 5

Harper: In your experience of the world. How do people change?

Mormon Mother: Well it has something to do with God so it's not very nice. God splits the skin with a jagged thumbnail from throat to belly and then plunges a huge filthy hand in, he grabs hold of your bloody tubes and they slip to evade his grasp but he squeezes hard, he insists, he pulls and pulls till all your innards are yanked out and the pain! We can't even talk about that. And then he stuffs them back, dirty, tangled and torn. It's up to you to do the stitching.

Harper: And then get up. And walk around.

Mormon Mother: Just mangled guts pretending.


In the past I've look at change as destructive, something that I could not bear to endure; it was something that I feared.

But because we have no choice to live through it, we have to decide how to live our lives once it barrels through and rearranges our lives.

I read this passage for the first time when I was 18. I only have recently come to understand what it means.

Message edited 10/29/2009 12:19:18 AM.

Re: Rainy Day philosophical question... courtesy of Soul Pancake...

This speech inspired me to do a year of service with a Catholic lay volunteer program after college working with the poor. It also continues to remind me of the contemporary suffering many people endure today - their own personal crucifixion and it is my duty to be at least aware of it and do what I can to make the world a better place.

"Jesus’ death on the cross was a death in the cause of justice. He was executed because he challenged accepted values. He sided with the poor and the outcasts. He condemned oppressive structures. Jesus was a prophet and prophets meet strong opposition.

His cross reminds us that Christians must listen to the cries of the poor. We are in solidarity with those whom society may forget or even exploit. The cross is a sign of justice. To remind the world about the cross is to challenge the world for its injustice and neglect. Passionists are pledged to that challenge.

Finally, remembering the cross means remembering those in the world who bear the cross today: the disabled, the sick, the dying, the grieving, those isolated and alone — all who bear the burden of pain. Jesus identified himself with the “least”. He shared their burdens and brought them hope. He, too, bore the cross. "

Fr. Donald Senior, Passionist Priest

Message edited 10/28/2009 11:42:16 PM.