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Reasonable Force – Religion and Politics
In your official capacity, you may think it unreasonable to deploy force against rioters and looters. If reasonable force is used though, you might very literally save lives. Nobody’s asking you to shoot rioters and looters on sight even though they’re in breach of law. People just want you to employ reasonable force. If it’s possible, that may be “none at all.” Considering it’s probably not feasible it would be, “The minimum amount necessary to dissuade those causing harm or death to people, and damaging property from their activity.” Call me crazy, but if it saves lives, this seems like the best course.
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Opposing Views – Religion and Politics
In the end, the point of this little piece is to indicate that disagreement and argument are not inherently evil or problematic things. They can even be considered necessary ones. Evolution of ideas, even for a single individual is largely predicated on one’s ability to have contentious discourse with others. Arguing that this is some sort of aggression or violence is something that can easily be turned back on the one doing so. Rather, you ought to hear others out, then apply what you know to the best of your ability. In doing so, you may potentially achieve amazing results.
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The Cost of Mayhem – Religion and Politics
If you think you’re doing anybody a favor by rioting, looting and, destruction, you’re not just lying to yourself, you’re harming people about whom you claim to care in the process. To say nothing of others you’ve never even met, who might seek to be sympathetic to your plight, were it not for your untoward actions.
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Stepping Away – Religion And Politics
So, maybe it’s not the total ticket to success when dealing with complex issues. Maybe others can function unerringly without needing to step out, but for me it’s been an invaluable tool in my toolbox. If you find issues at work or in your personal life are leaving you drained and feeling like a failure my suggestion is, for just a while, walk away.
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Undue Violence – Religion and Politics
Perhaps you think you’ll change the world through rash, violent action. The truth is, you can’t help but change some part of it. That doesn’t mean the alterations will be for the better. When you maim and kill as a result of trying to bring about some difference or other though, you can count on being viewed badly by others, making it likely they’ll revile your ends as much as or more than your person. Chances are you’ll be on the planet for a good many years to come. Do you really want to live with the results of sowing discord and chaos through violence? I hope not.
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Social Safety Net – Religion and Politics
You may think government programs are generally pretty decent, that’s not been my experience. Even now, I’ve been waiting for a decision on my local unemployment insurance for the past six weeks. I’ve been off work (and looking desperately for more), for three months. Part of the delay was my fault, the rest is on the government. Trust me when I tell you, people definitely do get lost in the shuffle.
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Lock Step – Religion and Politics
You may say the government deals reasonably with those trying to work with it. I tell you that, I paid into this system, and cannot take out of it, even after fighting to get them to acknowledge me at all. You’ll forgive me if I see government as a set of lock-step, horribly inefficient entities (and for more reasons, and more cases than this); if you haven’t read this piece, you probably won’t fully understand why. When you have, you should.
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Covert Authority – Religion and Politics
In the end, the point is, if you don’t take the time to see what’s happening, if you continue to cede your rights to “government agencies here to help,” you shouldn’t be surprised when the result is not what you expected. Whether you like it or not, when some folks taste power, their response may be to want a whole lot more. Is that what’s presently happening here? You decide.