Whatever cause you may be devoted to, be it customer retention, artistic genius, eradicating AIDS or denying women access to adequate health care, has at its core a non-negotiable act of rejection. The difference between civilization and chaos lies in how well you’re able to cope with that which you reject. Yes, you. I have Facebook friends, co-workers, and fellow condo owners who are my polar opposite on many political and social issues. Even my wife and I don’t always see eye to eye. But the tacit agreement we made when we came in off the plains was that I’m allowed to refine my identity freely because you are, too.
There’s a difference between being and doing, and the line looks pretty bright to me. It’s the woman at a party who told my friend Jim, “I work as a hooker.” It’s why a burning cross is not protected speech, and why killing museum employees is an admission of failure that convinces no one of the nobility of your cause.
Your identity and how passionately you prattle on about it is fascinating. So go ahead and hate, haters. Do your best to convince me that I should hate, too, if that’s your thing. If I thought you were listening, I might return the favor and tell you where I’m coming from. But if your most compelling rhetoric is simply superior firepower, maybe it’s time to reexamine how you came to be an enemy of civilization.
Tags: hate speech · Holocaust Museum · identity1 Comment
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Wow — very well said, Bru! Cool, somber, profound musings on What It Means To Be US.