Violence.

Violence.

That one word is loaded with so much emotion. Love, anger, hate, jealousy, ignorance, frustration, hope.

It’s a beacon to some. A shield to others.

But most of all it’s wrong.

This week I see a lot of pain, a lot of confusion, and a lot of pride. People seeking answers. Others already seeking solutions.

All of them, every one, tiptoeing around that one word. Violence.

Who can we perpetrate violence against? Who deserves it? Who requires it? How can we live with it? 

And, as some have forwarded, how can we possibly live without it?

The whole conversation depresses me. The answers of course are:  no one, no one, no one, we can’t and easily.

I was raised Catholic. I will add that I have gotten about as far away from that word as possible, but as a youth I took it very seriously. You could call me a true believer if you wanted. The concept of noble sacrifice was my ethos. I think I remained religious for as long as I did to hold on to that idea more than any other, but I realized that the simple idea of non-violence was not tied to any one religion. It was by itself the rational stance.

At the same time, I was always drawn to heroes, the self-sacrificing ones willing to take risks, to put themselves in the line of fire, to take a beating and keep standing. You could say I was naïve. That those kinds of people, those kinds of heroes, are myths. Fairy tales.

I don’t believe that and I never grew out of it.

The moral high ground is the most difficult ground to stand on. Often you stand alone. It’s not solid ground, it shakes, it crumbles and it’s full of pitfalls. You will fall, and the climb back up is so difficult you want to give up.

Don’t.

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” I won’t mention who said that since it’s not important to this argument, but it is the truth. Violence always begets violence. The cycle is real. It’s the one constant of human history.

I won’t say that violence is to be absolutely avoided. Quite the opposite. Force has, in circumstances, saved lives, liberated people, and deposed evil.

The problem is celebrating it.

Violence is a last resort. It should never be reveled in, dreamed of, or wished upon. True violence is a brutal, base thing. It’s the utter destruction of society. An animalistic need for vengeance.

Never take pleasure in violence.

Never be satisfied because of it.

Even when it saves, even when it frees, and especially when it punishes.

Pity violence. Shame violence. Regret violence.

Never settle for violence. Always hold it back. It will be there when you desperately need it, but let it sleep until then.

Let it go. Because the moment you abuse it, you’ve lost. You’ve become nothing but a weapon. 

Unthinking, uncaring and blunt. Nothing but a ripple ever expanding outward. Tainting everything, gaining nothing.

It’s the hardest thing in the world.

It's also the most worthwhile. 

That is the way forward.