If the world is wrong and you know you're right, do you go along with the crowd, or become a martyr?

Answer 1

I do not need to become a martyr.

I am a non-conformist.

I go my own way and hopefully, I am doing the right thing. Everyone is responsible for his choices in his life and I will never go along with the crowd just to be part of the crowd. I think about the morality of all situations and make my judgment.

Where did I get this strong belief?

Here is my poem:

"My Unknown Father"

Would Holden Caulfield approve or call me a hypocrite,
a phony to invoke his name
Why not just begin simply and state matter-of-factly
I am sixteen and I spit in my father’s face
This is not a metaphor, simile or any figure of speech
This is the literal truth

We were arguing and an overwhelming feeling of contempt,
disgust, rage and profound disrespect came over me
It wasn’t simple hatred, but something else
a feeling of nausea
Something not to be borne
not to be tolerated
Something to be wiped out
Obliterated

My father’s reaction was quick
He was running after me
I ran to my room and shut the door
He wanted to break the door down and beat me
My mother wouldn’t let him
My father’s fury had to give in,
to surrender to my mother’s love for me

Did my father forget this incident against his dignity, his authority
I don’t know
What I do know is that I suffer
like Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment

I have never forgotten my crime against my father
I live with the guilt of my dirty deed
I live with my animalism, my barbarism
I know I’m guilty of the great forbidden

When my father was on his death bed
it occurred to me to ask his forgiveness
But something stopped me
What if he had forgotten this terrible injury
What if he had forgotten and now just for my own selfish reasons
I would remind him of this spit
What if he did remember, but didn’t want to be reminded of this spit

In the end, I just asked his forgiveness for not being a good enough daughter
My father answered “You’re good. All my children are good”.
This goodness my father thought was in his children.
This goodness was in him, my father.

Now that my father is dead
I realize my crime is even greater than that spit
And the guilt is mine forever to treasure

Why did I know so little about my father
When he would call me, my usual response was
I don’t have time to talk
I’m on my way out
When he would call at a more convenient time for me
the conversation revolved around me
Was I alright?
Did I need help?
Help meant money
Yes, I was alright
No, I didn’t need help

But did I know anything about his life?
Did I ever ask about his life?
The unbearable truth is that I never thought about his life
Never thought was he alright
Meaning health
Never thought did he need help
Not money, of course, but caring,
a father - daughter connection

After my father passed away, I was informed that he had volunteered
He never spoke about himself and what he did for others
Now we will never speak and I will live with my crimes against my father

But whenever I have the chance, usually to a close friend
I say these words to honor him
the honor I deprived him of during his life
I give to him now that it’s too late

My father was the most honest man I ever knew
My father was the most modest man I ever knew
My father was a good man
And now it’s too late for me to know him

Answer 2

You can "Be in the world, but not of it", without being a martyr. You can be an example for others to see and learn from, but you would have to worry about the jealous making you a martyr. Or you can be undercover and hide in plain sight by pretending to be ordinary.

Answer 3

Martyr is a crappy word.

I believe that I would "go with the crowd" because I would not have the mental capacity to think that EVERYONE was wrong except me, but I would only require a few people to agree with me to give my thoughs validity. I find it easier to disbelieve something everyone else seems to believe in than the other way round.

Answer 4

I'd like to say I become the martyr, that is the right thing to do.

Answer 5

neither

I would not be swayed

yet the world mostly writes off people like that

sometimes the Christian ones become martyrs after they die.

Answer 6

Right or wrong, I don't go along with the crowd! Martyrdom isn't me either (I am a compulsive chocoholic). I don't really give much thought to whether I'm right or wrong. I just try to get through my life as best I can.

Answer 7

i try to not say anything incriminating, and keep to myself as much as possible.

Answer 8

i would do my best to do whats right i hope