The Key Ingredient Is Violent Power
Reminder: the key ingredient is violent power.
People are often jerks. People sometimes have frightening opinions. People do things we dislike. People can be ignorant, sometimes willfully so. People are frequently selfish.
These are problematic, so we seek empathy and enlightenment. And it is good that we do.
But the above are not truly damaging unless they attached to violent power.
Without violent power, these issues are an opportunity for discussion and learning.
But when backed by the ability to call on armed men & women, the ability capture & hold people, the ability to acquire with force, and the ability to strike and kill: they become coercive and potentially deadly.
We cannot and should not stop educating. We cannot and should not stop furthering socialization and empathy.
But we also need to be more focused on limiting violent power and the systems that coordinate it. Too often we excuse the amassing of violent power because it is done by someone with a friendly face or someone agreeable to our causes.
History tells us time and again that such violent power will always be abused eventually.
Immediacy is not an excuse to trust it. Tribalism is not an excuse to trust it with “our side.”
We must fight being distracted by opinions and strike at the root.
Fight the power.
