Brutality and History

Most of human history has been characterized by the powerful ruling over the weak through brutality and fear. A quick survey of history will show one empire after another conquering as much of the world as they could. Big, powerful nations get the headlines in our history books: Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, Greece, Rome. Many of the most famous leaders were also quite brutal: Caesar Augustus, Hannibal, Attila the Hun, Herod the Great, Alexander the Great, and plenty of familiar names from the twentieth century.

For most of history, most people have had to cope with oppression. They have fought for survival, trying to avoid the reach of the powerful. This is just the way of human history. Philosopher Thomas Hobbes described human life as "nasty, brutish, and short." He had a lot of evidence for his point.

There has always been incentive for the powerful to oppress the weak. The powerful can get what they want. They can provide some measure of protection for the oppressed. The powerful make sure to kill all the right people to ensure the outcome they desire. The domination of the strong is just the law of existence. 

One exception to this rule, flawed as it may be, has been the United States of America. Objective history will reveal plenty of abuses of this nation, from slavery to slaughter of Indigenous Americans to internment of Japanese American citizens during World War II. But for most of American history, our leaders have acknowledged the danger of rule by brute force and fear tactics. Leaders have gone out of their way to justify any violence and claim the moral high ground. We Americans know that we are not like most nations in history. We look down on the brutal dictators of any century. We launched a revolution to free ourselves from oppression.

But now we find American brutality being justified without any claim to moral high ground. The world is a violent place, our leaders remind us, and the strong are right to dominate the weak. Our national interests are all that matters. We take what we want and need because we can. We use force on our own citizens and dare local officials to stop the feds. We bomb foreign nations at will, with no authorization from Congress. We bomb boats and kill people in the open sea, stating categorically that only drug smugglers have died. Meanwhile, Congress is too afraid of raw power and retribution to provide any check on executive power. 

What we Americans fail to realize is that most of history has been like this. The strong have crushed the weak, because they can. The strong dare anyone to stop them. Leadership is defined by what you can get away with. And these stories are the stuff of history.

So now, Americans, welcome to normal history. It doesn't feel so good to me.

Kid fun, kid frustration

Old people find children delightful, almost universally. A kid at a retirement home immediately becomes the center of attention. Whether it's a baby or a third grader, elderly people, and adults in general, just love seeing kids.

Maybe the little ones remind us of our own kids or our own childhood. Maybe we like imagining what these children will become. Maybe we want to make up for missed opportunities to love on children.

But what makes kids so delightful?

The joy of kids is so genuine and untainted. They squeal with delight. They jump and dance around. They talk incessantly about their happiness. The folks around happy kids feed on that joy. Adults can capture, just for a moment, the bliss of simple contentment.

Little kids also openly express their bad feelings. They may be tired, or angry, or disappointed, or frustrated. They let it all out with plenty of decibels.

But the adults don't usually feed on those bad feelings. We feed on the joy, but not the sadness. That's what makes kids so much fun. The good times are wide open, and the bad times will soon be gone.

Why don't we "catch" the bad vibes? Adults usually know the source of those bad feelings. The kid is tired, or hungry, or impatient, or disappointed. Knowing the source of the discomfort, we also know that the bad feelings are temporary. They will resolve, fairly quickly. The child will get rest or food or whatever they need. The bad feelings will be soon be gone.

Now to the child, the situation seems impossible to resolve. They have good reasons to feel all those big feelings. That's even healthy. They have every reason to cry or whine or complain.

But adults don't feel overwhelmed by the kid's emotions. Adults know the cause of the discomfort, and know that it will soon be all better. Even so, adults should acknowledge and validate the kid's bad feelings. "That's frustrating, isn't it, Buddy?" "I know you don't want to share the toy, but you will have your turn soon." "I know you feel bad right now; let's get some rest."

Sometimes adults may need to allow an uncomfortable situation to continue for a while, so that the child can develop some patience, or unselfishness, or perseverance. 

I think this is how God deals with us.

He delights in our delight. He stays with us in our bad feelings, knowing that our situation will resolve. He sometimes allows hardship to continue, but knows that we will grow through it.

Adults have enough experience to see that kids' hardships are temporary. But somehow we fail to realize that our own difficulties will also resolve. 

I'm glad God knows it, and loves us even when we pitch a fit.