Saturday, November 30, 2019

Picking a Fight is not the Way to Defend that which is Good

   Tell me the things worth fighting for, and I just might tell you you're wrong.
   Friends and family, love and peace, justice and the American way, fairness, kindness, the pursuit of happiness, God and religion, the oppressed, the exiled, the downtrodden, the poor, freedom and liberty, property, wisdom and truth, principles, honor, life, the unborn . . .
   All things good are worth standing up for. There is no doubt that it is good to stick up for that which is right.
  But, to fight over them?
  When we pick a fight in defense of that which is good, we still pick a fight. Plead for what is right. Protest, if that will help. But, in all you do, if you can avoid the spirit of hate, do so. If you can avoid making enemies, do so. If you can avoid turning it all into a "fight," do so. Those you differ with need not be made your enemies. Reasoning need not be taken to fighting. If you can smile -- and make it a warm and genuine smile -- at those who have different values and beliefs, then that is the spirit of peace, not of a fight.
  If you have wisdom, offer it in the spirit of wisdom. Offer it in a wise and gentle way. True wisdom seeks friends, not enemies. True wisdom seeks to help, not to hurt. The true giver of wisdom comes not with a sword, but with a loving arm.

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