Well said, Guy. Thats almost word for word what my father taught me.

Thanks freda, for starting this thread.

Once, in a sociology class, a student interrupted the prof. to object to a theory based on idealism. The prof replied that even if it was 'only an ideal' did that make it not worth striving for? In other words, it may not be a present reality but if you believe it to be fair and good you should strive for it because although it might not happen in your lifetime, the movement toward the ideal might be enough to improve our society. At least thats how I interpreted it.

I have also had to remind parents of 'gifted' children that it is not enough to only have wonderful ideas because our society does not tolerate unproductive geniuses very well. I think ideals combined with action has been the catalyst for most of the changes in our world.

Ideals also serve a purpose in personal development. Take the angry adolescent who has discovered that we live in a world with environmental catastrophe, discrimination, endangered species, famine and war. They often grieve their lost world of innocence and turn their anger toward society in general. Hopefully they will emerge with a set of ideals that will drive them forward into adulthood with the realization that they can make a difference.

Ideals motivate us to be the best that we can be.