Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Q: What is the result of fighting?

A: Somebody getting hurt.

I’ll share a secret with you. I fight with code. There are times when I will sit down and try to program something that I want. But, the compiler doesn’t like the way that I do things. It kicks out some error messages trying to tell me the error of my ways and then leaves me to my own devices to figure it out. I try to force my will again and the machine just won’t give an inch. Unless I figure out how to accommodate the situation at hand, I am left in the throes of my own frustration. It hurts.

That’s what fighting is really all about, one will trying to gain dominance over another, either by physical force, or in the case of computer programming, intellectual assault.

Fighting with a computer is a waste of time. The computer just doesn’t give a shit and it's impervious to pain . When the fight is between humans, somebody ends up hurting.

It seems that we like to fight, particularly in politics. Candidates want to fight for us. Some candidates want us to fight for them. There are a few that want us to fight, period!

Debates aren’t a rational exchange of ideas. They’re fights. We want to see our guy trounce their guy. That’s the way it is.

There is a theory that the language that we use describes the way that we think.

You don’t hear talk about “struggling”. You don’t hear talk about “persevering”. You don’t hear talk about “thinking”. All you hear is talk about fighting…fight, fight, fight.

We seem to be a nation of fighters, at least that how it seems by the way we talk. I guess that we're not adverse to inflicting pain.

We’ll I don’t like to fight. I like to do things with people that at the end of it all everyone comes out of it feeling just all right. I think that it's called cooperation.

If I am going to hurt somebody there needs to be a really good, concrete, in my face, life and death, immediate family and close friends reason to inflict injury.

Fighting with my neighbors over politics just doesn’t cut it. I’d rather struggle, persevere, think and learn to accommodate the situation at hand in order to get what I want. And, if that doesn't work, move on.

Then when it’s time go to bed at night I will sleep better knowing that nobody got hurt due to my need to have my way.

As they saying goes, all you need is love.