I haven’t had much to say recently because I’ve been thinking. I picked quite the year to resume regular writing. Topics are not hard to find. But, with this particular topic, I’m still not quite sure what I think, so I’m not sure what to say.
To take a step back, I tend to access my emotions through intellectual reflection. I have many thoughts, but as I’m reflecting, I realize my main emotion for this cultural moment. And that emotion is anger.
At the core, I think I am angry about the violence. I am angry about violence done under the false name of justice. The chief recent example of this was the violent end to George Floyd’s life at the knee of Derek Chauvin. But, that’s the most recent example in a long line of unnecessary violence under the false pretense of justice.
I’m also angry about the violence that has mingled with otherwise peaceful protests. My sense is that there are different groups intersecting in the same situation with different purposes. I am giving the benefit of the doubt and assuming that most of the protesters are well-intended, but they are being joined by rioters and looters who are not. My hope is that more protesters would follow the example of Martin Luther King Jr., though his commitment card seems too overtly Christian to fly in today’s society.
Jumping off that last point, I am realizing I am also angry at many so-called justice warriors. I say “so-called” because it doesn’t include everyone fighting for social justice. It includes people who are practicing intellectual violence under the false pretense of social justice. The intellectual solution they offer to the systemic problems is worse than the disease and will corrode far more than it cures. Their justice is violence to the mind instead of the body.
Since there is not much I can do about the anger I feel toward the first two situations, I’m going to turn my attention to the third. It may actually help the other situations though. Behind the police brutality that leads to deaths like George Floyd’s is a philosophy of policing that some officers adopt and others don’t. Behind the rioting and looting, there is a philosophy of history and progress that many protesters couldn’t name. And behind the drive of many social justice warriors is a philosophy that will only perpetuate societal issues under the false pretense of cleansing us from them.
Because I care, I want to explore these issues. I want to dialogue in order to understand. I want to do some more research to think clearly in order to love my neighbor better. I want to take you along for the ride, and maybe we’ll both learn and grow together. It probably won’t be easy, but few things in life worth doing ever are.