The Rule to the Exception

Women die because the law says she can't have an abortion under any circumstance. Muslims butcher a man in broad daylight because he was a soldier. A gay man is beaten to death because he is a deviant. The list goes on.

After years of reading on philosophy and religion, the Golden Law of the universe is not to coerce or inflict your will on others, to do so generates bad karma. It's promptly ignored when it goes against whatever the current outrage.

Men decide what women can or can't do with their bodies, Muslims encourage killing unbelievers, homophobes justify killing gays. If you want to think Jews, gays, women or ( fill in the blank) are evil, sub human, whatever, that's your right. I may disagree with it but that's your right belief and so be it. But when you inflict that belief in the form of violence on others, when you insist at gunpoint that others believe as you do-that's where we need to draw the line. Not all men are narrow minded mysognists, not all Muslims support terrorism, not all bigots carry out their hate to death but the ones who do, need to be stopped.

Some claim it's hypocrisy to be intolerant of extremists. It's not, it's self defense. Instead of insisting the morally stunted bullies stop inflicting their narrow minded notions on society, we make excuses for them in the hopes it will placate them from doing more harm. It doesn't, it just makes the apologists look weaker. Like an abused wife who explains away her vicious husbands behavior as her own fault so maybe he will stop beating her. We need to call the bully for what he is, they need to see the harm they inflict on themselves and others. Sometimes that means shutting the bullies out of the playground because they are too dangerous.

I once had a friend who was smart, funny and we politely disagreed on many topics. But she became so strident and inflexible in her views there was no room for civil debate on either side. I had to cut off our relationship. That's the way it goes, it happens. She not required to listen to my point of view any more than I am required to listen to hers. That's our right.

Sweden, a very liberal, progressive country has allowed immigrants into their country and generously care for them with their welfare state. But the immigrants were unhappy for a number of complicated reasons and one day their anger reached a tipping point and they rioted for days. The Swedes were shocked, the immigrants couldn't politely disagree with their new compatriots. The two must part company as I did with my friend.

The next time you demand the world think like you, ask yourself, does the world view you hold drive you to inflict harm on others? Does your world view leave allow for difference of opinion? Does your belief system have room for the pagan law - do as you will, harm none?

If the answers are no, then it's time to reconsider one's narrative.