And did I mention compromise

Third installment. A short one.

3. In order to avoid violence it is necessary to compromise. You cannot be 100% correct in a fight because the other group will think the same. If you choose to hold back and to not give an inch then you will always be destined to war, large or small, rather then peace.

So this may sound very similar to the last post, but they are different. In the last idea we talked about the need to see the other side, to understand their point. This leads to consensus or compromise. It is important enough though to say this twice; you must be willing to compromise.

Since I spent the majority of the last post explaining this (I really should check myself before I write anything new) I will make the point definite again. You have to be able to compromise. We continue to fight and argue because we cannot learn to reach a consensus or a compromise.

I think a part of my thinking on this topic is that compromise doesn't seem to be happening today. Ever since the start of the Afghan war ten years ago (dear God!) the world, and particularly the U.S., has seemed to grow more polarized. Issues of economics have taken the main stage and has seen the fall of many governments. Greece has descended into chaos over fiscal policy and cannot seem to find a way to compromise. The government there has made concessions to the European union to save their credit rating and the people of Greece feel they are being asked to bear the entire brunt of the fallout. The government, in trying to compromise with the E.U., has seemed to ignore the people who refuse to give on their stance. Since I don't know too much about this subject I will leave it at that.

It seems to me that this polarization has come out the most in America (could just be that it's what I see the most). It has become the stance of many people in this country that the only "compromise" they will except is one where they get only their way. That is not compromise! This stance, which is on both sides of the aisle (hooray for non-accusatory stances), has brought many parts of my country to a standstill. I was listening to a news story today and they mentioned that Minnesota, the state named with the best working government at one point, had shut down. There was no compromise and no attempt to compromise so the state shut down and had to lay of 22,000 public sector employees*. This stubborn, single minded, unwillingness from all sides to compromise has caused innocent people to be hurt. Many people are not going to receive paychecks because of a refusal to see the other side and reach consensus.

So I have, I hope, made my point. I don't think I have run this one to death yet because it is that important. Not just to the pacifist who looks to find the middle ground on issues, but to normal and effective relationships with all people in the world. So just to get it across, You need to compromise.

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*http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2011/07/01/shutdown-state-employees-laid-off/