I've got a little theory I've been formulating over the past few months, based on my reading of history.
The theory goes like this:
In any country where there is a polarized political divide, and one half of the political spectrum loses its mind and goes crazy, then the other half will also lose their minds, and go equally crazy.
I'm thinking particularly of historical examples like Italy in the 1920s, Spain in the 1930s, Japan and Germany in the 1960s, etc.
In all of these cases, once one half of the political divide lost their minds and spiraled into extremism, it provoked an equal and opposite reaction on the other half.
I'm sure I'm not the first person to realize this. If the phenomenon already has been given a name, let me know. But for now I'm calling it: Action-Reaction Theory of Politics
To put this in slightly different words:
If one side of the political debate loses their minds and embraces extremism, then they have to expect that there will be an equal and opposite reaction from the other side.
I'm going to put my political biases on display here and say that the Right lost their mind first.
In retrospect, it was a long time coming.
It started all the way back with AM radio and Fox News in the 1990s. It gained power with the Tea Party Movement in 2010. And it reached full power when Donald Trump became the Republican Nominee.
To put such a man into power clearly indicates that the Right has lost their mind.
And it was bound to provoke the Left into a counter-reaction.
The Right never understood this, of course. They thought they could spend all of 2016 spewing racist dialogue, and making threats against minorities, and then have everyone calmly sit back and accept the results of the election in November.
When I see footage of bewildered Trump supporters on the news, white suburban housewives who are wearing Make America Great Again hats and are starring bewildered into the television cameras and saying "I don't understand where all this anger is coming from"....I just want to reach across my television screen and slap them.
They do not get to wash their hands of this. They can't lose their minds, and then complain about the reaction from the other side. These are their riots. This is what they bought in November, now they have to own it.
...that being said...
although it was entirely predictable that the Left would lose their minds, it is not necessarily beneficial.
For strategic reasons, if nothing else, it would be better if we didn't lose our minds. Because losing our minds is not a realistic path to victory.
Everyone lost their minds in the 1960 and 70s and what did it get us when it was all over? 12 years of conservatism under Reagan-Bush. This was because the Left was very good at rioting in the streets, but all these riots never showed middle America that the Left could effectively govern.
What do people expect to gain from all the riots nowadays? Do they expect the Midwestern voters to turn on the TV and say, "Look, more chaos in the streets. That looks like a viable political alternative!"
I grow depressed when I get onto twitter, and see people (people I respect) celebrating violence.
Yes, I know, it's a terrible time in America.
But the Nazi resurgence in Charlottseville was not caused by a failure of physical force. It was a failure of education and ideas.
And this kind of thing can not be countered by streetfighting.
It is countered by showing that there is an alternative to hate.
So when you see a video of a Nazi getting injured in a streetfight, don't celebrate it. Show compassion, and condemn the violence.
...Or, don't listen to me, go ahead and celebrate the violence. And then see how far that line of political dialogue gets you in 8 years!
Last word goes to Chomsky
Noam Chomsky: Antifa Is 'A Major Gift To The Right'
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