opponents or enemies

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Saturday December 06, 2008 · 12:06 PM PST

2008/12/06 · 12:06

Justified behavior does not make it either right or practical.

The election of Obama, for many of us, is like coming out of exile in the country we have felt isolated from for so many years. It is a faint glimmer of hope in what seemed almost hopeless for a very long time. It seems possible that the country is ready for some much needed changes. I try to keep my expectations to a minimum, but it is possible to hope.

A good friend of mine took part in an experiment around 1970 at Stanford, Ca. A group of students were made guards and another group were made prisoners. They were all given psychological tests to make sure they were "normal". My friend, Chuck, was made a guard. Within hours he became cruel and abusive, as did the rest of the guards. The experiment had to be canceled after just a couple of days because the prisoners were being abused too extensively. Chuck says it was one of the most formative experiences of his life.

The truth is that power has the tendency to corrupt. It is not just that people prone to authoritarian behavior seek power positions, but that the power positions accentuate such behavior.

The Republican party sought power and got it for much of my life. They abused their power in ways that have damaged this country greatly. There is little doubt about this, except from about 25% of the far right. The rest of the country has repudiated much of what they have done. Their main strategy was to force through anything they could without compromise.

Now the Democratic party is in control of government. They have the same choices. If they band together they can force through pretty much whatever they want through Congress. Democrats traditionally have not been so monolithic. But who knows what will happen in the dire environment that we face now.

The Republicans made their opponents their enemies. No doubt there are many who want to make the Republicans their enemies. There are many reasons to do so, and many rationalizations too.

This is the problem. The cycle of enemies never ends, unless someone ends it. "An eye for an eye" leads to lots of blind people. When does it end? Cannot we find a better way?

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