Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to Hate.
Hate leads to suffering.
Even if you are not a fan of the diminutive Jedi Master who spoke those words, the message is as true in our day to day lives as it was on screen. Most suffering in the world could be solved quickly with the resources and technology we have at our disposal; yet innocent children still suffer and die from illnesses we can cure, veterans still live on the streets, unable to afford the price of the very society they gave their health and sanity to defend, and more people across the world are willing to ‘close the doors of their vaults’ and shelter from the world around them, rather than help their fellow human. We’ve seen this theme played out in Art and Literature for centuries, and expanded upon with film, and even video games. Yet, as we grow more isolationist, the anger and fear we have for other people ends up turning inward, dividing us in ways our founders would find abhorrent and shameful.
Last week, the Pentagon, and the Offices of the President, were sent packages containing Ricin (a powerful and deadly poison). This week, not only leaders of the Democratic Party, but the Offices of CNN, were sent packages with suspected Pipe Bombs. Regardless of where your politics lay, there is no excuse for these kinds of cowardly acts – yet, there they are. And there are no excuses you can give to justify these actions. If it’s OK in your mind that Obama get a pipe bomb, but you are angry that someone tried to poison Trump, then politics is not your problem. Short-sighted arrogance, ignorance, and a narrow world-view have a lot to do with it, but not politics.
What we are seeing now is the result of the polarization of the American Population. Extreme views from both sides of the spectrum are to blame for this, and only by ending the ‘us vs them’ mindset most people have these days can we even hope to not end up destroying ourselves. As it stands now, as ‘We the People’ stand more divided than ever, we are one gunshot away from another Fort Sumter. It’s a scenario where no one wins – not the Right or the Left. We have to take hold of our fears – whatever they may be – and learn to work together to overcome them. Compromise is the only true path for Freedom, and the only way to Govern a diverse population. Otherwise, all our fears will be our undoing. And if this Great Country falls, it will not be from the outside. It will be because of Bullshite, middle-school playground politics, masquerading as political discourse. We must learn to find common ground, and compromise on the things we don’t already agree on. It’s the only way to dig us out of this way of thinking, that is getting more dangerous each day.
If we don’t, then war is coming. Some say it’s already here – but that is not only foolish, its part of the problem. If you see everything as an affront or an attack, then you are living in fear, not reality. Sure, things are rough – things are not perfect, and they never will be. That does not make this a war.
But it will be, if we are afraid enough to literally start killing each other in the streets. If we are too short-sighted, too arrogant, and actually bring war against each other.
And war never changes.
