Why We Shouldn’t Just ‘Do Something’
It’s a common belief that US President Teddy Roosevelt said, “In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.” However, according to the Theodore Roosevelt Center, “this statement is often attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, but no known source can be found to verify the attribution.”
Even so, TR was devoted to action. He didn’t shy away from making a decision and acting upon it. The important detail is that the decision must be based on what is right.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Every Small Decision Leads to Winning or Losing in Spiritual Warfare ]
The fifth element of the five SemperVerus components is DO, which emphasizes the importance of combining the previous four elements in order to engage in accomplishing what is needed in the moment. Neither procrastination nor neglect is an option. The SemperVerus principle reads:
V. Do: resolving to intentionally and skillfully act to accomplish positive and fruitful outcomes.
A recent commentary by John Stonestreet on the Colson Center’s Breakpoint podcast stresses that ambiguity is not the answer when action is called for. Merely choosing to do “something”—especially if it’s misguided—can be inappropriate, nonsensical, and even an obstruction to beneficial outcomes.
[ Read the SemperVerus article, Be Like Ernest Shackleton ]
Here are a few excerpts:
• “When people are afraid, they often either lash out against those they perceive as their “enemies” on the “other side,” or they look for something, anything, to fix what it is they fear.”
• “The cry to ‘do something’ is not uncommon at times like this. ‘Do something’ is, in fact, a cry for help. However, it is not a strategy or tactic. Doing ‘something’ isn’t helpful if that something is wrong, mistaken, or irrelevant. In fact, doing ‘something’ could make matters worse.”
• “We must know what to do, and that requires being clear on what the problem is, what the solution is, and who is able to accomplish the something (or somethings) that need to be done.”
• “Our tendency to think that all problems should be politically understood, are politically motivated, and can only be politically fixed is symptomatic of the political illusion, a social condition from which our culture suffers greatly.”
Read the full commentary here or listen to it in the player below.
[ Read SemperVerus articles on the subject of DO ]
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