Foreshadowing

 There isn’t very much that is redeemable about Voltaire, but you’ve got to hand it to the old powdered wig wearing curmudgeon, he did come up with some doozies. There is one quote of his that I’ve been mulling over the past few days, and that is, those who can make you believe absurdities can also make you commit atrocities.

Some things don’t ring true until they do. It’s as simple as that, once you get past all the fluff. I remember reading this quote in my youth, and it rang hollow for some reason, but no more. The reason it no longer rings hollow is because the evidence that this statement was factual is all around us. Torched out buildings, torched out cars, dead cops, and harassed citizens are a testament to the veracity of Voltaire’s statement, that yes, those who can make someone believe absurdities can also make those selfsame individuals commit atrocities.

As is often the case, I tend to dip my toe into the pool before anyone else because that’s just my nature. I am not given to cowardice, nor am I given to biting my tongue, especially when I know the fundamental truth of what I am espousing. I think that waiting to see which way the wind is blowing before you make your position known is tantamount to spinelessness, and since I never plan on running for public office, I can say what I believe rather than what polled the right percentage.

If more people don’t start doing this, a very vocal, feral, and altogether irrational minority will run roughshod over the silent majority, increasing and intensifying the level of violence, because once one level is normalized and it no longer garners a response, it must escalate.

While the other side is waging guerilla warfare attempting to dismantle everything civil society is built upon, from family to the church, to the rule of law, they demand that we abide by Marquees of Queensberry rules. So it’s okay for you to go onto someone’s property, attempt to torch their place of business, physically assault them, and attempt to murder them, but if the judge sets your bail at a million dollars, then that’s egregious and beyond the pale. Got it!

What we have seen thus far is only a foreshadowing of what is to come, especially now that a new wrinkle has been added to this entire drama with the vacancy of a supreme court seat. As an aside, when the other side rages and is beside itself regarding something that may happen, that thing needs to happen, and happen posthaste.

If we insist on fighting like gentlemen, then we shall perish like gentlemen, because when you bring fists to a gunfight, the battle is over before it’s begun. This is what the rabid minority is counting on. This is what the deranged are hoping for. That while we are insisting on honest discourse and debate, they can bludgeon people to death in broad daylight and get away with it.

In case you haven’t noticed, this is no pugilistic exhibition we’re talking about; it is literally the future of this nation, so please, for the sake of your kids’ future, contextualize the importance of the hour, and do something commensurate.

Posted on 20 September 2020 | 11:16 am