A History of Violence
settling your differences
VIOLENCE/ANGER/NONSENSE vs DIALOG/CONSIDERATION/ELOQUENCE
Tonight’s post is quite long. I have thought about this one for a while. It took me a bit over ten minutes to read it. I usually aim for 5-7 minutes. In an earlier post, I shared one of my durable memories of my father-in-law. I asked him why he decided that law was the right career for him. His reply was something akin to “while imperfect, the law is the very best way people have ever found to settle our differences”. The animus I hear from leaders, the press, friends, and family about decisions made in the courtroom makes me wonder whether our commitment to the process is fraying.
Today I am going to delve into some American History. Today is one day beyond a dark day in American history. I think that we are constantly reminded of violence in our society. America has a proud yet fragile history of maintaining the Republic. On November 22nd, 1963, President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, TX. One of the things that drove so many toward conspiracy in the aftermath was that a single man, acting alone, could asymmetrically upend a modern society. Oswald purchased his rifle mail order for $19.95 plus shipping and handling along with the 4X scope included in the price. Here are some disturbing facts about our collective psyche and a reference to some of the information provided below.
There have been 46 Presidents in the history of our great country.
Four of them, NEARLY 10% have been assassinated in office (Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John Kennedy).
At least thirteen others have had assassination attempts on their lives. This is 28% or more than one of four.
Starting with Herbert Hoover through the recently completed term of Donald Trump, thirteen of the last fifteen Presidents who have completed their service have suffered assassination attempts and one, President Kennedy was killed. The percentage, starting with President Hoover, has risen to 87% in the approximate last century.
In the case of President Clinton (6 plots), Barack Obama (5 plots) and Donald Trump (2 plots) this American tendency seems to be getting worse.
There is a clear, present, and rising danger in American society to settle our differences with force.
I do not believe this is peculiarly American in nature. However, the boiling rage in a society that begets this level of violence sits on a razor’s edge if it wishes to remain a free society. Social unrest is not peculiarly American. However, it is hard to imagine how our recent past can be changed. One of my over-arching perspectives is that life is improving on this planet. For now more than two centuries, America has been a powerful force for good in the world. Many of our former allies have moved swiftly toward authoritarianism or at least striking rigidity in their policies. Examples, in my eyes, are Brazil, Hungary, Poland, Turkey, and the Philippines as recent examples.
There is also a natural progression that cannot be discouraged. The only relief from this point would be a transformation of the heart of human beings to consciously try and just be better. Since WW II, more and more wars have become insurgencies. The strength of great powers relative to anyone they battle is asymmetric. The might of the United States when it engages in war is overwhelming in relation to an enemy. Technology has given individuals and insurgencies unprecedented power to act asymmetrically against a powerful enemy. There is no reason to believe that as technology continues its speedy progression, the accessibility of everyday technology applied toward hostile ends will become more and more capable to repel even the strongest adversary.
The September 11th attacks are a case in point. A relatively small group of people, with no offensive capability, and a modest budget inflicted the largest loss of life in a single day in the United States. Lone wolf attacks of the past were small in impact. Today, as was witnessed at the Las Vegas shooting of 2017, Steven Paddock, acting alone killed 60 and wounded 411 people. Even small groups of alienated people can cause immense human misery. The rapid advancement of technology puts immense force multiplication into the hands of individuals. This trend will continue. If this were a mathematical exercise, the professor would say the trend of one person being able to kill one man (in the allegory of Cain and Abel) migrates to one man being able to kill millions. While we have only seen this progress from 1:1 to perhaps 1:100, the mathematics of the trend are sobering. Did you know that a modern SLR camera flash has sufficient timing accuracy (1/20000 of a second) to be used to trigger the fission of a uranium core? How do we stop people from buying a Nikon camera? Alas, we cannot, the answer can only lie in their heart and mind.
What stands in the way of this progression? The human condition and perhaps the willingness of ALL OF US to realize we cannot leave others behind. Such alienation in a technologically advanced world may end in scales of misery not previously imagined.
The appeal of violence and rigidity of thought is a great danger to society. What brought me to this topic today? I am interested in what has changed in this accelerating world that makes anarchic attempts (not just assassinations) more common than ever before. There has always been instability in the world. In fact, it is only in the recent past that we have come to be able to treat instances of clear and moderate mental instability. Prior to that, I suppose we just called people crazy or anarchists and offered no avenue to treatment.
I am a believer in data. I also believe that trends are a great predictor of the future. What happens to a society that cannot peacefully elect AND support its leadership? I think the last two Presidential elections have brought with them an animosity (perhaps hatred) of our fellow Americans. I have heard on the news, from personal conversations with family and friends, a level of HATRED toward President Trump AND President Biden that boggles the mind. The day after elections it is common for people to make “high-minded” throwaway comments like “whoever is elected I will support them because of the office”. I fear that such throwaway comments are exposed by horrible comments from the SAME PEOPLE. It has become common to f-bomb our Presidents! This level of outrage and madness cannot be sustainable. I want to stress I am not reflecting on our Presidents, I am reflecting on us.
I believe that our future is bright. I also believe that without action, this descent into violence and hatred will mark the future direction of our country. I believe America has been an indispensable player in the progress of this world. I also believe that the scientific method and rapid advancement are with us regardless of who gets to see how things turn out. When I want to feel great again, I return to a speech given by President Kennedy at Rice University. This video is WELL WORTH your time. I think there are a few shopworn tidbits in the speech that many of us have heard over and over. The greater speech is simply amazing. It DEFINES leadership, eloquence, and stands the test of time. It is slightly less than 20 minutes so best suited for the treadmill or cast to your television. I think the best 20 minutes you may spend today. Here are some highlights from my point of view:
Rice University is more difficult to be accepted into than any Ivy League University. A great place for an eloquent speech.
01:40 to 01:56 — I can play this over and over and it brings new considerations each time I hear it.
02:44 to 04:52— The pace of change and the world we live in and why we must embrace change and set aside ignorance and fear. A bit like my thesis about how human history is compressed into the recent past.
05:00 to 06:27 — Reject the past, embrace the future.
07:45 to 09:15 — Eloquence about the role of the United States and the sacrifice WE SHOULD EMBRACE.
09:21 to 09:57 — The part of the speech we have heard the most.
12:22 to 13:02 — Telling the TRUTH and explaining why things are done
13:11 to 14:10 — Why embracing change can transform our lives
14:50 to 15:23 — Future investment compared to current spending priorities.
15:50 to 17:08 — A detailed presentation of the famous snippet of the speech.
17:25 to 18:02 — A genuine motivational speech that constitutes LEADERSHIP
18:07 to 18:40 — Closing with a flourish
What has happened to us? I remember when President Biden was caught on a hot mic whispering to President Obama “This is a big f***ing deal”. I remember President Trump being caught on a hot mic saying “grab ‘em by the p*****, they want you to do it”. I do not delude myself to think they were the first men to speak this way. I am only left with the hope that we can do better. It is no coincidence in my estimation that these are the two oldest people ever to be President of the United States. We have a building cauldron of hatred directed toward our leaders. When President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963, it was the HOTBED of murderous talk about our President. It was the center of thought for the John Birch society. There were wanted posters of President Kennedy hanging on telephone poles throughout the city. An anti-Catholic had attempted to assassinate him earlier in his presidency before that fateful day in November.
President Kennedy is our youngest President in the history of the Republic. Perhaps it is time for the old and recalcitrant to pass the baton to the generation that must live with the consequences of their government’s actions. Do I believe all of his decisions were good? Of course not! His brief Presidency was marked by significant decisions judged by time to be very poor (The Bay of Pigs, Vietnam) and those that have stood the test of time (Cuban Missile Crisis, Going to the Moon). I wrote about the anniversary of his assassination for reasons larger than individual decisions. I believe that he brought a new way of thinking and a willingness to be bold. I like to think that he would have been wise in admitting his mistakes and adjusting his course. That is impossible to know.
What is happening is not new. But the statistics and the news we align with are truly unnerving. Many of our citizens genuinely believe the craziest of theories. I hope that all of us can take a step back and realize that the country we love is worth preserving. Part of that requires us to be kind, considerate, and patient toward our fellow citizens. When we go bowling, we don’t score it as a strike or no strike. We record the number of pins leveled. A free society requires tolerance. Each roll of the ball knocks down zero to ten pins. Life is gray, not black and white. If you only see black and white, you should choose a wider lane. Think about it.
Here’s a song a bit about today’s topic. The video is fun.
39+
A lot of ideas to think about