"I believe that force, mitigated so far as may be by good manners, is the ultima ratio, and between two groups that want to make inconsistent kinds of world I see no remedy except force." - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
It would seem that the US is on a trajectory akin to the Troubles in Ireland or the Years of Lead in Italy. My question is how did these nations manage to “turn down the temperature”? I have to imagine the feeling of hopelessness after events like Bloody Sunday or the Bologna railway bombing - yet these countries are generally peaceful today and didn’t require a purge of one particular side of the conflict.
Some thoughts on political violence in the United States that I feel are still missing from the discussion:
* The Supreme Court being a corrupt institution and rulings such as Snyder v. United States legalizing bribery mean that the courts are a lot less trustworthy in acting as neutral arbiters in a conflict.
* Efforts to render elections inconsequential such as gerrymandering make activism a lot less powerful
in addressing issues. Elected officials no longer need to care.
* The prospect of pardons for those acting outside the law effectively
removes legal protection for many. Why bother adhering to the law if
a pardon makes that issue moot?
In other words, nonviolent means of conflict resolution are becoming weaker or are ceasing to exist, leaving violence as the only option available.
"I believe that force, mitigated so far as may be by good manners, is the ultima ratio, and between two groups that want to make inconsistent kinds of world I see no remedy except force." - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
https://constitutionalcommentary.lib.umn.edu/article/justice-holmes-logic-of-force/
It would seem that the US is on a trajectory akin to the Troubles in Ireland or the Years of Lead in Italy. My question is how did these nations manage to “turn down the temperature”? I have to imagine the feeling of hopelessness after events like Bloody Sunday or the Bologna railway bombing - yet these countries are generally peaceful today and didn’t require a purge of one particular side of the conflict.
Some thoughts on political violence in the United States that I feel are still missing from the discussion:
* The Supreme Court being a corrupt institution and rulings such as Snyder v. United States legalizing bribery mean that the courts are a lot less trustworthy in acting as neutral arbiters in a conflict.
* Efforts to render elections inconsequential such as gerrymandering make activism a lot less powerful
in addressing issues. Elected officials no longer need to care.
* The prospect of pardons for those acting outside the law effectively
removes legal protection for many. Why bother adhering to the law if
a pardon makes that issue moot?
In other words, nonviolent means of conflict resolution are becoming weaker or are ceasing to exist, leaving violence as the only option available.