BATTLING CALMLY: On Conflict & Ethical Engagement

	Circles of violence will only cease
	if anger is transcended
	and we serve higher needs.

	Most battles are fought
	not with guns or bombs
	but between competing beliefs.

	Our lust to prove ourselves "right"
	can blind us arrogantly
	and create moral blight.

	Shield yourself from outrage
	which poisons of the intellect.

	Engage adversaries
	with compassion and faith,
	noticing the many ways
	you are akin.

	No one likes a loser
	but perhaps how we fight
	is more important
	than whether or not we win.


Will: 	 I can't imagine anyone battling calmly. Humans are generally too emotional.

Kasim: 	 Yeah, calmness is easy in an armchair.  What about in a battlefield with bullets flying?

Nadia: 	 (yawning) We can go through endless intellectual gymnastics. What I deplore, 
         however, is that the author avoids addressing a central question: when is violence warranted?

Wan-Sze: (with a tinge of sarcasm) Nearly everyone pulling a trigger feels it is 
         "warranted." Yet how can our small brains ever calculate precisely how much 
         violence is warranted at what time?

=====================================================================================
from How Weird: Out of the Box of Expectations by T Newfields
Summary:  Some thoughts on the ethics of aggression. 
Keywords:  violence, just conflicts, ethical war, casus belli, jus ad bellum 

Author: T Newfields [Nitta Hirou / Huáng Yuèwǔ] (b. 1955 - ?)
Begun: 1997 in Shizuoka, Japan ☆ Finished: 2023 in Yokohama, Japan
Creative Commons License: Attribution. {{CC-BY-4.0}} Granted

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TRANSLATIONS

ESPAÑOL   https://www.tnewfields.info/es/luchando.htm
NIHONGO   https://www.tnewfields.info/jp/reisei.htm
ZHŌNGWÉN  https://www.tnewfields.info/zh/lengjing.htm