Entrepreneurs and Traditionalists Help Society Avoid Stasis and Chaos

John Cook wrote a riff on Apple’s Ad “Here’s to the Crazy Ones” that praised entrepreneurs called “Here’s to the Sane Ones” which praised Traditionalists.

Entrepreneurs and Traditionalists
Help Society Avoid Stasis and Chaos

Here’s to the sane ones,
the responsible,
the mature,
the unsung heroes,
the pillars of society,
the ones who see what needs to be done and do it.
They’re not fond of recognition,
and they know the world is a messy place.
You can snub them, make fun of them, or ignore them.
About the only thing you can’t do is live your life without them.
They make the human race survive.
And while some may see them as the boring ones, we see love.
Because the people who are humble enough to serve are the ones who hold the world together.
John D. Cook “Here’s to the Sane Ones“

For society to continue it needs entrepreneurs who are a little crazy and the steady and reliable who preserve traditions and do the equally important job of keeping calm and carrying on. Even entrepreneurs bent on changing the status quo need to take care not to break what’s working, to preserve the values that foster civil society, and to appreciate those that are slower to embrace change as providing an important balance.

The Crazy Ones

“Here’s to the crazy ones,
the misfits,
the rebels,
the troublemakers,
the round pegs in the square holes,
the ones who see things differently.
They’re not fond of rules.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them,
But the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things
They push the human race forward,
And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius,
Because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”
Steve Jobs, 1997

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• While We Pursue our Dreams, They Can Pursue Us
• Marge Piercy’s poem “To Be of Use”
• What a Mixmaster our Dreams are For Our Memories
• The Messy Order of Robust Communities

Photo Credit: “SeaShell” by Toni Cvetanovski, licensed from 123RF (Image ID : 120511994)