I have really struggled with what to write in this post.
Part of me wants to rant about the dangers of incendiary language, of the fact that words mean things and some people mean things with their words. The other part of me wants to try to ignore yesterday all together, to just overlook the events and continue on.
Perhaps I can split the difference by just listing a few thoughts.
1) We need to start holding people responsible for the words they use. In public. And mercilessly, until people get to the point of thinking about what they say.
2) Countries and empires tear themselves apart from the inside long before they are torn apart from the outside.
3) The longer we as a country pretend that there is not a rhetorical and political aspect to the growing violence, the deeper the divisions grow. I can almost hear them deepening as I write.
4) Most times where civil wars start is often unclear. When they end seldom is.
5) Seldom do the initiators of such events look back after time and think 'That was a pretty good idea." More often, they are looking at the smoldering ruin of what their society once was.
I agree entirely but I think we'll end up worlds apart. The question becomes 'At what point does your political/social/economic opinion become hate speech?'
ReplyDeleteThe answer for roughly half of us is 'At that point where your opinion differs from mine...'
Of course, that is a load of horse-puckey; and we have wasted countless hours trying to respectfully change that opinion, and then get labelled as haters anyways. We are judged as intolerant, and intolerance will not be tolerated. At that point most of us slink away either because we perceive ourselves to be arguing with idiots, or we genuinely regret offending people. Whatever - their tactics work and we see the result: we have no morals and ethics left, and our laws and social fabric are collapsing now to.
When progs and social justice warriors do that to me, I now retaliate. If they express their opinion I express mine. If they get rude and nasty I reciprocate in full. I won't stop until THEY stop, and if they escalate, I ante up every single time.
It destroyed my very family. But my alternative was to have militant lesbians head my family with me there only to defer to them, pay the bills, and hold the bag for their failures. Seven years ago we were a solid, mutually respectful extended family. Today we don't speak. I assure you this too: I WILL take up arms and violence against family that will try to rob me of my rights, my freedom and my faith by means of force. I made sure everyone knew that up front and it may have saved some people from grievous bodily harm. We have all decided to reject each other and have left it at that. What else can you do?
Sometimes there is no compromise or accommodation left. Sometimes you HAVE to fight and that's the only way to resolve conflicts. I dunno - that's my two cents. If you can negotiate a peaceful resolution to all this TB - I'll be happy to go along. But being polite and courteous and respectful to tyrants and degenerates just isn't working. They hate us anyway.
Sadly Glen, I fear we are past the point where peaceful resolution is possible. That would take a willingness to look beyond one's opinion for the common good - and if one believes that one's opinion is the common good, there seems to be no more basis for communication.
DeleteActually, I have two articles to commend to you which I just read this morning from National Review (not always my favorite place, but these accurately reflect where we are. One, an article on how divided the US has become; the other on the resignation of the head of the Liberal Democratic Party in Britain in large part because of his evangelical Christianity:
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448643/divided-america-people-must-connect-america-survive
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/448659/tim-farron-resignation-liberal-christianity-liberal-democrat-party-leader-resigns
"They hate us anyway." The sad part for is that I believe that to be true as well.
My problem in my corner of the universe is that we can't even agree on what the common good is.
DeleteTrue. And maybe we have reached the point that "the common good" is not common between us. But we have not yet reached the point where we are willing to acknowledge it openly.
DeleteI've decided to stop watching the news, it just makes me mad. It's not profitable to me,I just don't want to hate anymore.
ReplyDeleteEphesians 6:12 sums it up.
Jeff
Not an unreasonable response Jeff. I have tried this for small periods, but I always feel the gap in the not knowing.
DeleteAnd yes - this is just a reflection of far more eternal realities.
Thanks for stopping by!
Within a couple of generations, our country has cultivated and released a population with a "skin" thinner than that of a balloon, and with less testosterone than God gave Eve. There's no longer any debate. There's nothing heard but whining, and phones dialing lawyers. These are the people who say "You're robbing me of my opinion." No, folks; you're robbing me of MINE.
ReplyDeleteThis country, in its present configuration, has died; it just doesn't know it yet...
Sadly Pete, the social media and Interweb explosion has convinced everyone that their opinion is the most important thing in the world. There is no grace for the opinion of others or the acceptance that others might hold opinions as tightly as one holds their own.
DeleteSadly, I think your last statement is true. It is like a marriage that everyone except the two people involved know is over.