Political Extremism

It's easy to think of political ideology on a straight-line spectrum, but that's not necessarily correct. In terms of extremism, the further right or left you get, the closer you get to the "opposite" end - so it's more like a 360-degree arc.

This would explain why there is a lot of confusion when it comes to determining whether historical atrocities were committed by left or right wing extremists, because when a leadership has gone too far to one extreme or the other, there is little distinction as far as the means and the end result: authoritarianism, oppressive regimes, mass-bloodshed, warfare, starvation, collapsed economies, and so forth.

The interesting thing is that at one extreme you'll typically have a theocracy, while the other necessitates complete atheism - both of which constitute a strong-held belief system.

Most citizens (unless they admit to being radicals and are thus proud of the title) will never consider themselves as being extremists because of the ramifications on a reputation, once education brings us to the knowledge of how harmful extremism in either direction can be. No sane person wants to be associated with that. Even many of those who hold the most extreme views will convince themselves (and try to persuade others) that they are "left of center" or "right of center" or "moderate" but almost nobody will admit to being an extremist... because "those are crazy loners or leaders of cult-like groups who write manifestos with a plan of action."

Truthfully, though, the divisiveness that's been going on for some years now (but has recently ramped up exponentially), has thrust increasing numbers to one extreme or the other (or exposed their true character). A good indicator of self-awareness would be to ask one's self a few questions:

The first would be if you advocate any doctrines that compromise liberty, justice and equality explicitly stated in the U.S. Constitution. Hint: There are many blatant violations (or attempts) against our constitution that are endorsed by so-called "social justice" groups or in the name of "political correctness" - even some that are proposed and a few that are even passed as laws.

Secondly, to what means are you willing to push an agenda? If it falls outside traditionally legal, democratic, constitutional methods, well - maybe it's extremism. In other words, espousing methods that use physical violence and/or property damage, coercion, extortion, bullying, harassment, intimidation, doxxing, character assassination, etc. are methods of extremists.

Third - if you can't accept that other peaceful, law-abiding citizens can have different opinions, beliefs or lifestyles that you disagree with, to the point where you desire to disrupt their peace, destroy their livelihoods and try to bring them into conformity to your own beliefs, it might not be your self-described opponents that are extreme - but you.

So what is the antithesis of extremism? What can we do to keep ourselves in check and avoid being pushed outside the boundaries of rationality? Well, I have one simple answer: Love unconditionally. Once we put stipulations on who we're going to love and under what stipulations, everything else starts to break down and we start to judge, categorize and make opponents out of our neighbors and fellow-citizens. Conversely, once we can develop unconditional love and compassion, for even those we disagree with (and even whom we may feel have done us wrong), we will not only develop an appreciation toward our fellow humans, but we may even start to develop an understanding why a person has an opinion or behaviors we don't necessarily agree with. This is the path to unity and harmony.

I'm going to include a bonus suggestion that can help ALL of us immensely: Gratitude. An attitude of gratitude, even for the most seemingly insignificant things, will dissolve a multitude of our ills right now. I could literally write a book on the ways it has changed my life and I've seen it change others, but for now I will leave it up to you to discover.