Here comes the violence

Trump's election to president produced some of the biggest protest demonstrations in U.S. history.  Protests at his inauguration were held in every population center in the country.  But they were largely subdued with women wearing pink pussy hats and  being gentle in demeanor.  Protests and armed counter-protests have recently involved some shootings and destructive acts that have become almost routine in the reporting of daily news.  

A friend who is a dedicated pacifist once told me that he would never abandon his belief and practice of non-violence, but admitted that society seldom changes its bad ways without the force of violence to drive the changes.  He, a historian,  can rattle off a long list of examples.   He says that as much as people may advocate for non violence, the fact is that society seems largely impervious to mere words.  People seem not able to take constructive action until outbreaks of violence threaten them.  Despite the massive opposition demonstrated against Donald Trump, it has been largely dismissed and forgotten.

America has sometimes had leaders who could acknowledge opposition and engage opponents in a dialogu leading to workable compromises.  At other times, such as the present, it has leaders who ignore and dismiss the opposition, and some opponents become convinced that the only way to assert themselves is through violence.  And the leader urges people to take hostile sides rather than work to reconcile or accommodate differences.

We tend to prattle about the divided nation, but at the same time harden down into our opposing attitudes in the belief that the only thing that registers on the brains of our opponents is a good whack on the head.

Unfortunately, that seems to be the case.