Passivity

 I have often heard the misconception Buddhist teachings are "passive"---meaning that they are too heavily based on the notion of accepting things as they are, that they may fail to inspire people to change things for better. Aside from the problematic notion that acceptance always entails lack of action, I begin to wonder why there is a stigma in North American culture about 'letting things slide', and is it always irresponsible to do so? Just the other day, I made a similar error. When I was tutoring a student about an article on personality traits, I suggested that 'passivity' was a more negative trait than a similar introverted quality such as 'reflective' or 'introspective.' But what makes passivity 'negative', and who assigns positive or negative connotations to such qualities?
    In my own mental map, I would have to say that I gave much higher grades to 'passivity' when I was a teenager than I do now. I think it's because at that time, I was more aware than ever of the dangers of hasty action, and I likely didn't have that many social responsibilities. I associated passivity with a kind of austere, contemplative reserve which philosophers and a few scientists had. Could I say that passivity seemed more 'romantic' to me than it does now? In any case: over time, I started to notice how I could no longer afford to be passive about certain things (such as looking for a job!) and my purely observational stance started to fade more into the background.
   I think there are times when a person should have permission to be more passive about things and not necessarily do anything even when there is an expectation to respond all the time. At some point, for example, I might begin to value rest than activity, especially after having a heavy schedule. But rather than seeing this as a permission to let everything slide, I think there can be passivity in small doses: the occasional pause between breaths or the lull between crescendos in music. In fact, these doses of passivity are probably very essential to good health, and they allow a person not only to catch the breath but also stop seeing themselves in the hustle and bustle around them.