Yesterday, I wrote about The Mistake of the Majority – how people have suspended their reason, character, & sense of respect after the election, feeling justified because their party(the one that represents bigotry, racism, homophobia, etc.) won the presidency.
The left countered with protests, then things got out of control at UC-Berkeley when they devolved to physical violence.
When the majority (of the votes that mattered) went one way, those supporters felt right. So, the opposition reacted with another show of might.
But two wrongs don’t make a right.
As Abraham Lincoln said:
It has been said of the world’s history hitherto that might makes right. It is for us and for our time to reverse the maxim, and to say that right makes might. – Abraham Lincoln
We have come to think of Lincoln’s “right” as freeing the slaves & ensuring everyone should be treated equally. We face similar circumstances these days; there are people fighting to maintain “tradition” by making others less-than (ex: denying gays and lesbians the right to marry – that’s subordinating bc it makes a group have fewer abilities).
Thing is: everyone feels like they’re right.
And they’re set out to prove it.
This whole “let’s see who can hurt the other more” approach will get us nowhere. It’s winning a losing game. It’s how the presidential campaign was run. Meritorious arguments & real goals were drowned out by petty oneupsmanship. Look at how that turned out.
And it’s bled into the population. We’ve been infected with the Clinton/Trump Blame-itis. We exchange jabs, but to no avail. We have less constructive discourse & waayyy more white-knuckle clutching to our current positions.
Fighting fire with fire – is that not what war is? How have the last few wars turned out for us?
I happened upon this thought:
But now, instead of discussion and argument, brute force rises up to the rescue of discomfited error, and crushes truth and right into the dust. ‘Might makes right,’ and hoary folly totters on in her mad career escorted by armies and navies. – Adin Ballou
“Hoary” means grayish, or old and trite. I’m going with the second meaning here.
Knowing our history of war and political bandying, of interpersonal relations and what’s gotten good results… we’ve GOT to come up with ways to do better.
There are so many methods that I’ll be looking at next. Because, seriously, we are getting nowhere and if there’s one thing I know about myself it’s that I FRICKIN HATE STAGNANCY.
Another thing I know: We can do better.