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Opening 1
What is greatness? [pause] Greatness can be referred to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than all others. The concept carries the implication that the particular person, when compared to others of a similar type, has clear advantage over others. So how does responsibility relate to greatness? Do they come as a package? Or does possessing one quality mean the other must be learnt? TERM 2
Opening 2
DEFINITION 2 Throughout history there has been many the person who exudes greatness and power. Whether they do it through requirement or for their own personal gain; with greatness the price is-(more often than not)-responsibility.I don't know about all of you, but I find that when copious amounts of money are involved, the relationship between greatness and responsibility becomes significantly strained. This is why one of my favourite anecdotes of greatness through responsibility comes from the IBM company. TERM 3
Opening 3
DEFINITION 3 Theres a famous story of Thomas Watson, longtime IBM president, who called in the head of a failed division which had cost the company $20,000,000. Upon arriving in Watsons office, the head of the failed division, expecting to be fired, was promoted to head of a new division. When he asked Watson why he was not firing him, Watson told him I just spent $20,000,000 training you. Why would I fire you now? This shows he saw the failure simply as a mistake that could be learned from despite the magnitude of the situation. He was taking responsibility of the outcome. Does this responsibility earn him the right of greatness? TERM 4
Middle 1
DEFINITION 4 To start, I think we need to consider how greatness and responsibility are often combined in people we might not consider to be great. We often reward greatness through financial reward. Great footballers, film starts and pop stars can earn millions a year. The average salary in the UK is about 26000. It takes Wayne Rooney 15 hrs to earn that. Though all 3 groups bring a great deal into the UK economy are they really that much greater than midwives, teachers, nurses, soldiers or fire-fighters? TERM 5
Middle 2
DEFINITION 5 Is someone who saves lives less great than Tom Cruise; is someone who who develops lives less great than Justin Beiber; and is someone who brings life into the world less great than Gareth Bale? All these vital professions are highly responsible and do great things yet very few of them are famous or household names whilst fictional versions of them often are. So greatness can combine very effectively with responsibility but dont expect it to always come with a place in the Sunday Times Wealthiest 100.
Middle 3
However, it is worth looking further at some of our heroes and leaders those we often see as great. Are they always responsible? Let me set the scene for a moment. Imagine your in the sixties, the Beatles are on the scene and look down at you from every bedroom wall, of every teenager's room that you've ever visited. They're your role model and you only wish you could exude the greatness they do. And yet, as you thumb through your magazine- checking out all those new psychedelic swim suits- you see a quote from your "role model". TERM 7
Middle 4
DEFINITION 7 Christianity will go, Lennon said. It will vanish and shrink. I neednt argue about that. Im right and Ill be proved right. Were more popular than Jesus now. I dont know which will go first, rock n roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. Its them twisting it that ruins it for me. "We're more popular than Jesus."Is this a responsible person? Someone who was so confident in their greatness that they felt they had the right to disparage a whole religion based on their musical ability? TERM 8
Middle 5
DEFINITION 8 Unfortunately Lennon was not a special case. In the naughties we were introduced to the (debatable) musical talents of Justin Bieber. After acquiring a large-and loyal-fan base who would obey Bieber's every command. One would assume he would chose to become an influential and responsible character. But alas. We are all more than aware of his escapades in the past few years. There were cases of egging and indoctrinating fans with his [american accent] "badass" opinions. In this instance we see and influential, "great ", figure whose lack of responsibility has caused an epidemic of hormonal dramas (amongst other perhaps more concerning situations) that could potentially shape these youths personalities in the future. TERM 9
Middle 6
DEFINITION 9 On the subject of influential celebrities can we take a moment to address the issue of bail. It's all good and well if you're famous and rich. But in no way does this give you the right to pay your way out of trouble. The responsible thing to do would be to accept your wrong doings and move forwards, not using your greatness to slide under the radar.There's a difference between fame and greatness. For one can be infamous, can they not? Whereas, greatness itself is something that is earned from the good you do. TERM 10
Middle 7
DEFINITION 10 Take leaders and politicians.The likes of Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Ed Miliband have passed through our political system in fairly recent years. It cannot be disputed that a political leader is great, even if they are not responsible, for they have been voted in by the people and have earned their respect, despite their controversial views and marmite-esque personalities. What with Ed's etiquette, Tony's troops and Margret's miners there's no wonder we question the idea that responsibility comes hand in hand with greatness.
