Posts Tagged "force"

The folly of force

Posted by Steve Long on Aug 18, 2010 in Philosophy | Comments Off

The folly of force is that it doesn’t work. Look throughout history, examine every dictator and megalomaniac. Every idiot that thought he could force people to do what he wanted. Eventually it catches up. Eventually the oppressed get strong enough to revolt. Why? Think of how muscles are formed and strengthened, by resisting force. If you want to make your opponent stronger, use force. As your opponent resists they get stronger.

Force is justified as self-defense. That is without question. But the use of force as an instrument of foreign policy is folly. We cannot force others to do the right thing. They will do the wrong thing and get stronger in their resistance and call things that are wrong, right. It doesn’t matter if your cause is just if your means are unjust. All your opponent sees is that which is unjust. The unjust use of force. This gives your opponent just reason for resistance.

Practical matters always out weigh ideals. Democracy is an ideal. The use of force is a practical matter. There is more immediate justification in the practical defense of yourself than in the defense of ideals. The ideals behind democracy are better than those of religious oppression, but self-preservation trumps ideals. Those attacked have immediate and visible justification for self-defense.

The solution is to help those who are oppressed. To help those who resist. To give humanitarian aid, to build schools and hospitals. To make friends. To show a better way. The better way takes longer. It’s harder, not as immediately satisfying. There will be set-backs, reversals, but the slow steady progress of reason is the surest step toward democracy. Reason and education are the only way people will recognize their need for democracy. Once they recognize the need for democracy they will fight for it.

It’s called democracy because it comes from the demos, the people. Democracy cannot come from others, it can only come from the people themselves. The people of a nation must rise up and demand it. It cannot come from external power, it can only come from the power of the people.

Second pillar of wisdom

Posted by Steve Long on Aug 6, 2010 in Philosophy | Comments Off

The first pillar of wisdom came from Buddhism, the principle of non-attachment. The second pillar of my philosophy comes from Daoism, the principle of Wu Wei. Wu Wei means simply “without force”. The desire for things, the need for certainty, that is the primary motivation for evil. The primary method of obtaining those things is force. So the first step is to relinquish the attachment, the desire for an object. The second is to relinquish the method for obtaining that object.

The use of force is the essence of everything humanity considers evil. Rape is evil, it is forcing another person to have sex against their will. Theft is evil, it is forcing someone to give against their will. Murder is evil, it is forcing another person to die against their will. Do you see? The common element to all these evil things is the use of force. Daoism does allow the use of force for self-defense, but only as a last resort.

Force has several ways of being used. It can be manipulative, rather than brute. To lie or twist the facts is a manipulative method of force. It can be intimidation. It can be through the use of excessive laws and regulations. One of the sayings of Daoism is that “A land of many laws is a land of many criminals”. Forcing people to do the right thing is just as evil as any other use of force.

By totally rejecting the use of force we negate the possibility of evil.

Think about the evil in the world today. Terrorists using suicide bombers to try and force political and religious realignment. Think of our reaction, sending troops over there to force democracy upon them. Both sides fully committed to forcing the other side to do the right thing. The main cause of evil is the over concern with the righteousness of others. This is a trap we can avoid.

Now, I can’t stop people from using force. That’s a trap, too. All I can do is control myself. To commit myself not to use force. To live my life without forcing others to do anything.

So how to live this principle on a daily basis? The opposite of force is grace. I make a commitment to live a life of grace. It can be when I ride my motorcycle. I ride smooth and graceful. In photography, I don’t force my vision, I react to what is there. In dealing with other people I let them go first, to choose first. I make a commitment to speak the truth and not manipulate others. To be, as the Bible says, full of grace and truth.