The whole world is not going crazy, but a small part of it is. Most people, even those with passion for certain subjects, are reasonable even if they disagree. But calm, reasonable people do not make headlines. Idiots make headlines.
And the idiots are not confined to certain countries, or to the right or the left. There are idiots everywhere, and they are ruining everything. Some of the more obvious examples are getting tiresome and I don’t want to talk about them any more than you do but I have to at least mention them because they are causing the most harm.
Most Muslims are not violent Jihadists. It is estimated that somewhere between 10-20% of Muslims wake up every day wanting to cause trouble, whether it is beheading people or raping or dismembering or whatever. But these people give the rest of the world the distinct impression that all Muslims are idiots. Moderate Muslims need to control the idiots who are giving all of Islam a bad name. We don’t hear very much condemnation of these atrocities from the moderates, and that needs to change.
The idiots are only a small percentage of the people of Ferguson, and yet they get all of the publicity. Opportunists have entered the fray, intent on disrupting life and causing mayhem, rather than finding peaceful solutions to the problems in their community. There are responsible church leaders who call for peaceful protest of the conditions in Ferguson, but their message is drowned out by the idiots wanting to take over a casino and terrorize a Wal-Mart in St. Charles. That needs to change.
In Houston they have elected a gay woman to be mayor. I have long said that liberty and equality demand that people have the right to marry whomever they choose. But now comes the news that the city has issued subpoenas to area churches, looking for sermons or other speech that may have cast homosexuality in a bad light. Liberty means being free to do as you choose so long as it does not infringe on the rights of others. It does not mean having the power to force others to agree with you.
There are of course idiots on the right. There are white people who still believe all black people are animals. People like me need to set those idiots straight. There are people who think all Muslims need to be killed because they all believe in violent Jihad and the forceful implementation of Sharia law. It is up to people like me to convince them that this is not true. And there are people who believe that all gay people are immoral and want to force their “radical gay agenda” down everyone’s throats. We need to convince those people that most gay people just want to marry their partner and live in peace.
Unfortunately, my idiots point to your idiots as an example of the fallacy of my reasoning.
Most cops are good people who are trying to do the right thing. Unfortunately some cops are power crazy authoritarians who like to abuse people. The good cops have got to stop circling the wagons around every case of abuse and denying that it ever happens. Instead, they need to take the lead in condemning bad behavior.
There are reasonable people who are sincerely concerned about climate change. They have taken a look at the data and the science and they feel we need to start seriously looking at ways to combat the problem. Unfortunately their message has been hijacked by idiots like Al Gore who wants to make money by claiming the sky is falling. The reasonable people need to take the lead in calling out idiots like Al Gore and those that would falsify data and not try to shield them. On the other hand, those who deny any possibility of global warming need to be called out as well. It is entirely possible that rising CO2 levels can have a negative effect on our planet going forward, and trying to argue it is not possible just because Al Gore is an opportunistic idiot is also disingenuous.
We need to call out the political bulldogs who oppose any ideas or proposals from the other “team” just because of where they come from. Not everything Barack Obama or Ted Cruz advocate for is automatically something you need to oppose, unless you just wish to be a partisan idiot.
Not every business is evil. Not all profit is unearned. Some people who make a lot of money have earned every penny. Not every wealthy person is to be scorned. Those who feel capitalism is completely evil are idiots, and they need to be called on their extremism.
On the other hand there are businesses that cheat people and take advantage of workers, and there are people and businesses that will pollute to make an extra buck or two. Ayn Rand had a lot of good ideas but she is no God and sometimes capitalism becomes crony capitalism rather than free markets.
I am not advocating for centrist or moderate positions. I believe in my philosophy or “ideology” and it is not a centrist one. But the extremists all around us are ruining our world. We should advocate vigorously for our beliefs and positions in the marketplace of ideas. That is what advances our understanding. But letting the most extreme voices control the agenda is, well, idiotic.
If people didn’t see Muslim extremists committing violent atrocities on a daily basis then perhaps they could be more tolerant toward Islam. If the most extreme members of the gay community were not trying to shut down any voice that disagreed with them maybe there could be more acceptance.
We do not tend to listen to the voices from the other side. After all, they are wrong and we are right. But people do tend to listen to those on their own side, and so we need to speak up to our own people when they are out of line. A heavy handed cop won’t listen to the guy he is arresting but he may listen to his partner.
It takes courage and integrity to stand up to people under any circumstances. It is always tricky when you try to deliver constructive criticism. When you are critical of people on your own team you risk alienating those you care about. You could lose a friend and ally. But we have to stand up for what is right.
Forcing someone to bake a cake for a ceremony they don’t believe in is wrong. Trying to terrorize innocent people at a Wal-Mart is wrong. Cutting off heads for a video is wrong. Setting up a speed trap to make a quota is wrong. Hiding safety concerns or pollution in order to make an extra buck is wrong.
If the 90% of us who are reasonable and peaceful would stand up to the 10% of us who are idiots, we could all make real progress. Everyone please go control your idiots.
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