Fall for Anything

A couple of years ago I wrote a post on this blog about a well known phrase that people often quote that irritated me because it wasn't even true. Today I'd like to talk about another well known quotation that I think is even WORSE because--though it might be true--it gets abused by people.

The quotation I'm talking about is this:

"You gotta stand for something, or you'll end up falling for anything."

The first time I heard that quote I, too, liked it (I think the first time I heard it may have been in a John Mellencamp song, not that I'm suggesting he came up with the quote because I know he didn't). There is, after all, a germ of truth in the aphorism. It suggests that people who don't have some sort of moral bearing, some idea of right and wrong, will be unable to successfully make moral decisions. Our morals, after all, guide us like a compass in our most important choices.

That's nice. And I think it is also true. But the problem is that it's not the whole story, and some people WANT to make it the whole story. It IS possible to stand for something, to have total conviction and belief in something, and for that conviction to be wrong. And it's possible that--based on a strongly held, incorrect belief--a person can do terrible damage.

As an example, there's this Pastor Terry Jones who wants to burn the Koran. I've watched him in interviews on television, and I believe that--though he IS basking a little in the sudden fame--he isn't pulling this stunt about the Koran just to make a name for himself. He honestly believes that by burning the Koran he will be making a statement about the dangers of Islam, and that by burning the Koran he will somehow keep the Muslim world from taking over the United States.

The problem is that he's wrong. By burning the Koran, all he will do is incite anger in Muslims throughout the world, and some of the lesser educated will turn to violence. But there are plenty of people out there who are defending this burning of the Koran with the quotation above. I know. I've had conversations with a couple of people that have gone something like this.

ME: This Pastor Jones man is a fool.


OTHER PERSON: I disagree. He's a Christian with a deeply held belief, that's all. He believes that the Bible is the truth, and the Koran isn't.


ME: So do I.


OTHER PERSON: Yes, but what are you doing about it? If you believe that the Koran is wrong, that it's leading people away from God, shouldn't you want to destroy it, too? Shouldn't you want every Muslim to become a Christian?


ME: But burning the Koran isn't going to make ANY Muslim become a Christian. It's just going to tick them off. If anything, it's going to make them have a WORSE opinion about Christians, and it's going to make it harder for Christians like me--who DON'T go around burning the Koran--to have any influence on those Muslims later.


OTHER PERSON: Whatever. At least he stands for something. "You gotta stand for something or you'll end up falling for anything."

The quote's a cop out, a way to NOT have to try to evaluate whether a person's beliefs are wise.

So I think we need to have an addendum to the famous quote. It should read as follows:

"You gotta stand for something, or you'll end up falling for anything.
In addition, 
You gotta stand for something WISE, or you'll end up standing for something FOOLISH..."