If a radical individual causes you to act radically it’s worth considering who the radical is.
Peace is possible even when things are not peaceful. Just like radical behavior is a response, a choice. If we’re going to live in an age of radicalism let us choose what that looks like. Here are some options:
Radical paranoia
Radical insulation
Radical myopia
Radical nationalism
Radical protectionism
Radical acceptance
Radical understanding
Radical thoughtfulness
Radical conscience
Radical patience
Radical empathy
Radical love
A high premium is placed on safety in our culture. This is mostly driven be fear of what could happen, not what has happened historically. Would it surprise you to learn that safety isn’t a thing, it’s a feeling? You are not safe. You never have been. You just want to believe that you can be. Safety, like luxury, is a glamour. You can only feel safe and that has as much to do with how you choose to see your circumstances than what those circumstances actually are.
We don’t live in a peaceful world. We are not a peaceful people. We never have been. We’ve only experienced times where it wasn’t worth getting our hands bloodied.
Peace, like love, is a choice. It can’t coexist with fear. (The absence of fear is a condition of true peace.)
Escalation is part of the radical game.
If we must escalate, let it be love, let us be mindful.
For, if you lose your mind, you won’t have capacity to make your own choices.
If we forfeit our right to choose, that’s the moment we lose.
