The Age of Protests

Never have I seen a time where so many have joined to demand changes that benefit way more than just themselves.  There is a lesson in the events which now takes place in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya, Wisconsin and Ohio.  It’s a lesson on democracy but a much deeper one on civility.

Many of these protests are frequented by violent from one side and is equally combated when the other non-violent side is defending themselves.  We saw it in Egypt and most recently in Libya.  We do not see it in Wisconsin but the Governor did threaten to use it.  The only place where this is not the case is in the case of those Pro-Lifers who wish to intimidate and murder those that disagree with them.  They wear the tag of pro-life yet condone the taking of life.  They wear the tag pro-life defending the rights of the unborn while many never had or ever took the responsibility of raising a child, but that is another story for later.  The purpose here is to show the real silent lesson expressed by these protests.

The lesson is simply that in order to make your voice heard or settle a disagreement, violence is not required.   In the Wild Wild West, it may have been necessary to shoot first or be the fastest on the draw but not anymore.  Saber-rattling may have been the best way to get someone to listen to you but there is little need for that today.  For those who believe that violence is the only way means that they are very much aware that they will not be able to amass a great enough number of those who believe as them to march non-violently.  They know that the majority does not agree with their premise so therefore a more drastic measure will be needed.  They choose violence because they refuse to embrace compromise.  This is the lesson and will it ever be learned that to speak from a voice of unity is much stronger and ever-lasting than speaking from the voice of a gun.