Thursday, June 21, 2018

Heaping up in order to beat them down

When battling, we often think the more weapons you have, the better. But, what good does having a lot of weapons do, if we don’t know how to use them? In our ever growing divisive culture, many people apply such tactics. When we disagree. When we dislike. Or when we despise a certain point-of-view, we believe the more points we have to beat down our opponents, the better. 

I adamantly disagree… But I don’t want to beat anyone who disagrees with me with gobs of points. 


I know. I know. It is so very tempting to lash out when we hear a possible ‘gotcha’ flub our opponents might make. Any hint of a mess up. Any shred of flaw. We can’t wait to use it against our enemies. And, the more points we have the better… Right?

No.



Think from the side of the those who agree with the opposition. In their minds, they deeply believe those who disagree with them are out to get them. They don’t think their opponents will fight fair. They aren’t out to give their point-of-view a chance (I’m not advocating that we even have to). When such a group comes to listen to their opponents, they seek to latch on to those statements that prove them right.

So, when a group heaps negative point after negative point, will their opponents truly look at list long list of negatives and say, “By golly their list is so big, they must be right… We need to change our minds?” I know in our idealistic understanding, we have the blind notion that the bigger the list the better. That is not the way are opponents would see it. 

Each unfair point. Each statement taken out of context. Each straw man. Each unyielding, unforgiving, moments of honest slips of the tongue. These are the points opposition latches on to. Any valid criticism will be lost by the wayside. And, honestly, it is brutal right now. No wonder why people are digging in. It’s no wonder the media has nearly lost all semblance of credibility. 

I’ve seen outright terrible instances of media outlets, unfairly taking people out of context. Twisting their words to fit their narrative. Not even trying to get to the heart of what they are saying. I’m just sick of it. And, it’s not one sided, but I do feel one side is worse. Not because they do worse things, but because for the longest time they’ve been propped as a bastion of integrity. And, most of all, I believe such tactics are a contributing factor as to why events are not going their way. 

But, at the heart of it all, why do we feel the need to to pile on? Why can’t we simply cling to a few, good, solid points, and say, “Hey, would you consider this?” 

Why does an enraged fellow continue to pummel an unconscious enemy? 

Ultimately, when we’re angry, we want to grab on to whatever we can, and throw it toward the object of our wrath. Deep down--yes, this is dreadfully true for me--people have the tendency to want to smash their enemies face it the dirt. They want to get them to get their comeuppance, for daring to oppose them. They don’t make points in order to achieve what is best for their opponents, but in order beat them down. And, this is a great fear of mine. Many individuals want to give power to some sort of force, some sort of entity (often the government), and use such institutions to beat down their opponents. 

My question, plain and simple, what excites us most about beating our opposition? That they will be made to look like the fools we think they are? Or, that they may see the errors of their ways and join us in some sort of imperfect unity?

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