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Is patience ever not a virtue?

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shadowex3
shadowex3
Marked as Best! December 14, 2009 02:20 AM
"Patience" as most people refer to it can be thought of as tactical waiting. You're waiting for the proper time to take decisive action and when that time comes around you act quickly and intelligently.


Like all things it can come in excess. Patience beyond the most advantageous time of action, or used as an excuse to avoid action at all, is not patience but rather cowardice and weakness of character and will.


Most often this kind of false-patience is seen in terms of social injustice (as stated in the other answers) and when putting off a necessary but unpleasant action such as quitting smoking.

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cheapgamer
cheapgamer
December 13, 2009 11:15 PM
Yes, I think that being patient can be detrimental. It is possible to turn down a good offer waiting for a better one, but a better option may not arise.
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thebandit
thebandit
December 13, 2009 11:46 PM
Patience is not a virtue when there is some kind of social evil going on, and you are either in a position to stop it or contribute to its demise. If you can vanquish some kind of evil -- even small -- it is your moral duty to do so.

A perfect (if politically charged, but who cares?) example: gay marriage. Patience is absolutely NOT a virtue here, just as it wasn't a virtue for those who opposed banning interracial marriage to just sit back, be patient, wait their turn, etc. The virtue would be to do right.
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maryruth4
maryruth4
December 14, 2009 09:18 AM
Patience would not be a virtue if you were trying to rescue someone in a house fire or trying to escape yourself. Or if you were trying to get out of the path of a natural diaster such as a tornado. Or run from a bear......All of these things require quick thinking, immediate action not patient consideration.
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