Is it better to act on the feelings than to talk about them?
Since the dawn of civilization, men and women have been participating in an everlasting attempt to improve their lives through talking about their feeling. People often fall prey to the misconception that acting can accurately express how they feel. However, those who believe in the naïve assertion ignore that talking is a more direct method than acting since acting is to let others “indirectly understand” the feelings, unlike talking, which is to make others “immediately listen” to the feelings. If people would act on rather than talk about how they feel, others might misconstrue them. Therefore, it is better to talk about the feelings than to act on them. This universal notion is exemplified through history.
The first example is the perpetual president and an intrepid orator—Abraham Lincoln. During his presidency, the racism problems erupted into the unbridled Civil War. At that time, many white were pleased to discover they can accomplish a great amount of work with a work force that not only require no compensation but also reproduce itself. Seeing so many African American were beaten, separated from their families and forced to toil in fields their entire life, Lincoln felt angry and ashamed of the white. To express his feelings, he gave several inspiring and eternal address. In the famous Gettysburg address, when he said,” this government, of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from earth.”, he touched so many who eventually helped him successfully issue the Emancipation Proclamation.
Another exemplary illustration is Solomon Northup, a New York-born free African American who was accidentally abducted and sold into slave. He work in a plantation for 12 years before his release. After breaking free of slavery, he resolved to mend the gap between black and white by talking about how he felt frustrated and how he overcame numerous adversities in those difficult years. He also lectured on behalf of the abolitionist movement, committing to the abrogation of slavery.
From the epitomes above we can fathom talking about the feelings is a better way than acting on them. The aforementioned great men show us how they contributed to the progress of American society through speaking out their animosity toward slavery. If they had not talked, America would have not been a democratic nation as it is today. Just like Martin Luther King said:” We are here send by God to talk about what’s going on around us and to save our holy land.”
thanks! 