Sometimes, when I am looking for inspiration, I turn to music. This was the case for this blog. Driving my son to lacrosse practice, Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” came on the radio as I was asking on what I should write.
I am principled to a fault. Another favorite song—and one that immediately comes to mind when I listen to this Tom Petty son–is “You’ve Got to Stand for Something” by Aaron Tippin. Indeed, we need more people to stand—with one caveat.
We got to stand and not back down, but…. But, we also have to be willing to listen. We have to be willing to dialog. We have to be willing to sit, if we are going to stand.
A comment was made at a meeting at the start of this past academic year. The speaker said he wished we could encourage our students to protest more. I was, perhaps, in a minority, but I adamantly disagreed. Again, I am opinionated and dogmatic, but I am not excited by the level of protest that has become a part of our daily news. There are times to protest, but yelling at and deriding our adversary leads to nothing but counter-protesting. What we need is discourse. If you want to change a person’s mind, listen.
Stephen Covey wrote that one should “seek first to understand, then to be understood” (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Habit #5). “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19, NIV). The Proverbs instruct us to “not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (Proverbs 2:4, NIV). So, why don’t we?
I am stubborn and inflexible, but I am not a fool. I am not intolerant or closed-minded. “Well-centeredness” requires a growth mindset. One cannot grow if one refuses to listen and weigh alternative arguments. This is not to imply that we should be easily convinced. It just means that we are open to the possibility that our opinions can be improved upon.
Yes, I will stand my ground. I won’t back down. Where I am convicted, I will stand firm. I will not, however, push. I will stand (or sit) and listen. Expect, though, for me to want to be heard, and know that I prefer to stand only on solid ground.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
I Won’t Back Down
“Well, I won’t back down
No I won’t back down
You can stand me up at the gates of hell
But I won’t back down
No I’ll stand my ground
Won’t be turned around
And I’ll keep this world from draggin’ me down
Gonna stand my ground
And I won’t back down
(I won’t back down)
Hey baby, there ain’t no easy way out
(I won’t back down)
Hey I will stand my ground
And I won’t back down
Well I know what’s right
I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin’ me around
But I’ll stand my ground
And I won’t back down….”
Written by Jeff Lynne, Tom Petty. Copyright © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.