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Who's your inspiration?

Mr Quixotic

Mr Quixotic

The Lowest Form Of Wit
Withdrawn
Joined
Dec 14, 2012
Location
Australia
Okay, I've just been re-reading some of my favourite quotes to help me through a case of Tuesday-itis, and it brought to my mind a question.

Who's your inspiration? The one historical figure you admire, that you would like to meet or whose thoughts and views seem to embody your own.

For me, it's Robert G Ingersoll, the 19th Century Free-thinker and orator, of whom Mark Twain once said "What an organ is human speech when played by a master". The man had a way with words, views that were way before their time and very strong principles. I don't think I've ever read a sentence of a view of his that I disagree with.
 
Ah well I have a few personally.

Hunter S. Thompson, for being an absolutely crazy guy and generally being among the best free thinkers I've ever read. He's not up his own ass or anything, he's very quick to tell things how they were and as he saw them, and he'd do them in either the most hilarious or blunt way imaginable.

Theodore Roosevelt also is a pretty strong candidate for my inspiration. The guy was the most incredible human being to have ever lived and it's like every story from his life is taken directly from a classic adventure novel... or a Greek tragedy if you're looking at the darker parts of his life.
 
All hail Gygax Creator of Dungeons and Dragons! To be fair, I'm just a 3.5 nut, and have to like the guy who dreamed up the Tomb of horrors.

Otherwise, Ghengis Khan would be my role model. He was a nomad, but brought ancient empires to their knees. He managed to pacify the middle east, mentioned strictly because there was nobody left to oppose him. His generals launched the only successful winter campaign on Russia, and the Pope considered the mongols to be a sign of apocalypse, and his empire didn't shatter after his death unlike the great western conquerors. I can only pray to be half as successful as the great khan.
 
I don't have any single historical inspiration per-se despite wanting to met quite a few people (whether they're currently living or dead), but there is a someone I consider to be my inspiration in a manner of what I advocate today. She was a libertarian from Australia and we had a shared interest in video games, particularly Ace Combat 4 (we met on a fansite devoted to AC4). Though I'd like to just say hi to her once more, just for nothing else than a good ole debate if nothing else.

But like I said, there are those others I'd like to meet. Multiple inspirations, but not a single one inspiration-worthy in themselves.

  • John Locke - A true father of liberty and freedom, formalizer of the Natural Law. Everything from the Magna Carta to the Bill of Rights, Articles of Confederation, etc. - all based on John Locke's philosophy regarding the Natural Law (also Natural Rights).
  • Patrick Henry - Why would the man responsible for the Revolutionary war to begin with, the one Revolutionary that propelled the moral argument for freedom forward and became the loudest opponent of the British government, decline such an important convention? "I smell a rat!" said Henry as he declined an invitation to the constitution convention...
  • Genghis Khan - Quite odd a pick some would say for someone like myself... at face value. It's like what Friedrich Nietzsche said, The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. Like a previous poster said, he was the best at what he did, and had no qualms about it. He had something else, however, and that was his leadership, pure integrity - he was a meritocratic ruler; he did not once fill offices of any kind with people just because they were one thing or another. Instead, those wanting a position under his leadership had to prove themselves competent for it. He didn't give a shit about what color/race/gender/etc. you were (literally, as he had plenty non-Mongolians and females in his army), and he admired true loyalty: he just couldn't care less if you were his family or not - if you betrayed him, then you were going to deal with him and you would die in the process. If anything deserves admiration and commendation, then it's the loyalty Genghis Khan served.
  • Catherine Romanov; Catherine the Great - I have a lot of ancestry, and my Russian bloodline on my father's side was either part of the Romanov bloodline or was responsible for advising the family throughout its affairs, public and private alike (maybe a bit of both as well, who knows how monarchs and advisers worked everywhere). Alas, Catherine Romanov was responsible for the westernization of Russia, so it'd be quite interesting to have a philosophical debate with her.
  • Isaac Asimov - Alas, certainly a favorite author of mine. I'd probably like to get his latest thoughts on robots, cyborgs, & Artificial Intelligence in particular, if nothing else.
 
Hmm I always have trouble answer questions like this. History never really held any major interest for me to be honest. Sad but true. People that inspire me are usually people that are doing things NOW, to work towards a better future for everyone.

One figure that does inspire me a lot, is actually the Dalia Lama. After a particularly rough patch in life, I picked up the Art of Happiness and his entire lifestyle and way of thinking made me stop and evaluate myself. I could post quotes from that book all day and it would never encompass what it did for me. I still struggle with keeping negativity out of my life, its a very hard habit to break. If ever you are feeling down I definitely recommend having a look at that book. Its very eye opening.

“This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.”
― Dalai Lama XIV
 
In no particular order Friedrich Nietzsche, Niccolò Machiavelli, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Julius Caesar, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Carlin, Bill Hicks, and Gautama Buddha.
 
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