The Overlooked Conflict Between Ideologies

“Food for Thought” is an original column appearing every other Tuesday at Everything-Voluntary.com, by Norman Imberman. Norman is a retired podiatrist who loves playing piano, writing music, lawn bowling, bridge, reading, classical music, going to movies, plays, concerts and traveling. He is not a member of any social network, nor does he plan on becoming one. Archived columns can be found here. FFT-only RSS feed available here.

Ever since 9/11, the lines have been drawn. Never in the history of our nation have there been such vociferous, hate-filled differences between various ideologies. The schism between Democrats and Republicans, Liberals and Conservatives, Christians and Muslims, Jews and Muslims, the rich and the poor, the workers and the employers are well known.

However, there is one more overlooked set of opposite ideologies that are in constant battle for the survival of mankind. On one side are the Pacifists. On the other side are the Justice-Seekers.

The hallmark of the Pacifist is tolerance. He believes that tolerance can pave the path to peace and harmony amongst people. His brand of tolerance is so extreme that he is willing to exhibit tolerance towards those who wish to destroy him. Appeasement, compassion and understanding are his approach to settling disagreements between differing factions in the world. In fact, the Pacifist, in most cases, denies that evil exists.

The Justice-Seeker believes in justice. Justice is concerned with earning the earned, taking responsibility for one’s actions, rewarding achievement and failing to reward the unsuccessful and punishments that fit the crime. The Justice-Seeker believes in intolerance of those individuals whose own intolerance is so extreme that they vow to harm, maim, kill, and destroy others who disagree with them.

The Pacifist has a few problems with which to deal. According to his credo of tolerance, for honesty’s sake and for the sake of consistency, he must be tolerant of the Justice-Seekers, who admittedly are intolerant, as described above. However, reality demonstrates that the Pacifist hates the Justice-Seeker, especially in today’s political climate.

On the other hand, the Justice-Seeker practices his ideology with consistency. He remains true to his credo by being intolerant of the Pacifist. He sees the Pacifist credo to be self-sacrificial, suicidal and responsible for the promotion of evil. He sees the Pacifist as being on par with the very persons who wish to destroy us. He believes that there can be no compromise with evil—he sees those who wish to compromise with evil are as evil as the evil people with whom they wish to compromise. He believes that when an intolerant individual or group of individuals publically or by the written word, promises to destroy another person or group or nation, he should be taken at his word. There can be no compromise with such a person or ideology. They are peddlers of destruction. They come in all forms. When an individual or group makes such pronouncements of their evil intent the Justice-Seekers should take arms in preparation for the promised attack. Instead, the Pacifist seeks disarmament, compromise, understanding and compassion.

The Pacifist has a second problem, “Which position is in harmony with reality?” You be the judge of that. Better yet, ask the Eastern European Jews, Catholics and gypsies in the 1940s, the Chinese and Soviet masses over the past 85 years, the English who were bombed during WWII, the citizens living in the slum-ridden streets of Cuba, the victims and the families of those murdered on 9/11.

We are at a turning point in United States history. The liberal establishment has lost the House of Representatives to the conservatives. In the next election Conservatives hope to win the Senate and the Presidency. Suppose they do. They are already talking compromise concerning Social Security, Medicare, welfare entitlements, farm supports, government regulations, health care and balancing the budget. Repeal, not reform is what is required. Repeal of the anti-trust laws, minimum wage laws, rent control laws, tax laws, etc. have not been discussed. Most of the wasteful, corrupt, and inefficient government agencies must be closed but no one speaks of it. In fact, the income tax, the most evil of all taxes must be abandoned. Are the conservatives and Tea Partyists already compromising with evil before the ink is dry? Once the conservatives are in power, they might repeal Obamacare, but it’s as certain as the next sunrise that they will offer the people their own form of socialized medicine.

Better yet, it is repeal of the entire State that is necessary in order to create the kind of world we all desire.

In the presence of a society ruled by the State, compromise is the only method with which those in power can function in order to maintain a stranglehold on the populace. However, compromising with poison is still poison. Our society is toxic with the poisonous compromises that are offered as solutions to our problems. It’s an affront to a civilized society and a thinking mind.