Google says that practicality means “concerned with actual use rather than theoretical possibilities”; idealism means “impracticality by virtue of thinking of things in their ideal form rather than as they really are”. That seems to imply that being a practical idealist is the same as being a ‘fat thin man’. Not so.

My definition of practical idealism is different from Wikipedia’s. While, according to that storehouse of collective wisdom, the term implies a lot of compromise in order to implement / uphold ideals, my interpretation of it doesn’t go with such a heavy baggage; instead, it draws the line at insistence on compromises that go against the very grain of those principles which form my ideals. And thus, a practical idealist I am – someone who chooses to not let go of his values, even if they mean that he suffer the (probably) adverse consequences of those choices.