> Except in video games. In video games greatness is inevitable.
The underlying assumption here is incorrect, that is, that greatness involves saving the world in some epic way. I, however, see greatness in one who sacrifices himself for another, no matter how small the task. From the stay-at-home mom who spends most of her time caring for a small child to Captain Kirk's father who sacrificed himself for the whole ship (newest ST movie), there is greatness to be found in all of them, and one is not necessarily greater than the other, for they both involve elevating the other's interests above your own.
His assumption is that the only greatness worth achieving is in the video game world, the kind where some hero goes off to save the world.
My assertion is that the best kind of greatness is the one where a man sacrifices in some way for another, leading to the other's betterment/rescue/etc.
So, in this sense, one could save the world very selfishly and that would be a diminished greatness compared to a son who takes a leave of absence from work to care for his dying father.
no, he is saying that video games give him the simple pleasure of watching stats go up as he performs repetitive tasks. He derives pleasure from simple, yet ultimately hollow achievements because that is the type of praise he was raised on.
Yes this is what I'm alluding to. No offense meant at the parent comment, whose worldview I respect...I'm just saying that what you disagree with the OP on is not a mistaken assumption, but a different frame of reference...
The underlying assumption here is incorrect, that is, that greatness involves saving the world in some epic way. I, however, see greatness in one who sacrifices himself for another, no matter how small the task. From the stay-at-home mom who spends most of her time caring for a small child to Captain Kirk's father who sacrificed himself for the whole ship (newest ST movie), there is greatness to be found in all of them, and one is not necessarily greater than the other, for they both involve elevating the other's interests above your own.