How do you win a war?
“Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”
― Abraham Lincoln
I was listening to a really interesting podcast today and they referenced the above quote (beautiful quote)… which seems like it can apply to just about any battle you fight.
The podcast was talking about Isis and the rise of violent groups who attract young demographic and convince them to do insane things through a story. If you really want to win long term, how do you convert those groups and those demographics to instead be your friends? Killing people doesn’t defeat the story, you have understand the story that drives them to join, and offer them a better story to prevent it. Really good podcast.
The speaker seemed to suggest the big thing these kids are responding too is injustice. Something I think anyone can relate too. If someone don’t feel like they have a voice, and are constantly facing injustice every day, violence will happen. Seems to be the same story you see in the USA right now with violence and protest arising due to police abuse and killings. Not to mention the persistent abuse of those in poverty, and due to race.
What story does the USA offer youth growing up in shitty neighborhoods with shitty opportunities to move forward in life? How does that story correspond to the stats you see from studies on how many people achieve that story? Do any of the youth stuck in that situation still believe that story we feed them, and what story are they listening to instead?
It seems like the USA is in the middle of a huge culture war over what our story is as a country. Are we a place where you make it on your own, with less and less help from your community and government? Are we a place where the government and community strive to give everyone a fair starting point when it comes to educational opportunity?
If someone can’t pay for health care do we leave them dieing on the street? If someone is crazy is it the government’s responsibility to house them if they are abandoned or unable to pay for it privately? If someone is homeless is that the government responsibility to help them restart their life and get off the street? Should serious health problems bankrupt anyone who doesn’t have health care? Should the government decide who has access to what health care services? Do we dictate decisions based on the best science we have, or based on what makes the most money?
The last couple elections have slowly gotten more and more extreme, and this one has finally cracked open the right and you are hearing a lot of ideas coming out. I can’t wait to see what happens. What story will the majority of Americans tell themselves for the next 10 to 20 years? Who are we going to be?
/mindramble
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