When a human-caused fire breaks out, the person who caused it is responsible. But that doesn’t take responsibility away from a leader who then orders firefighters to stay home—or to even encourage people setting more fires.
A figurative fire was lit by one (or a group) of Minneapolis cops. Now, Minneapolis has literally been burning—and has been allowed to continue burning because the mayor defends the arsonists and has permitted them in unprecedented ways. This is the consequence of leadership becoming so politically one-sided, it blinds one’s perspective.
Unable to balance parallel truths (that the killing of George Floyd is bad and that riots are bad), the mayor holds in mind just one narrative: "A black man was murdered by white cop. Blacks have been oppressed for 400 years. Rioters’ anger is understandable and right. The buildings that have gone up in flames were only brick and mortar." These have been his responses the past couple of days when asked about this saga.
Never mind that many rioters aren't black (or are white). Or that black-owned business and countless black people's jobs have now been destroyed. Or that many black leaders are strongly speaking out against the devastation. Or that rioters have been freely ransacking and lighting fires with spray paint torches, with one being killed and several being injured. And that all this is permitted by the same mayor whose city recently closed playgrounds and removed basketball hoops for the supposed safety of inner-city communities. (What happened to the risk of COVID-19?)
This is the same myopic perspective I've watched the mayor employ when addressing the city's homeless problem, which is continuing to worsen.
They say in life, “Everything in moderation”.
This goes for political beliefs, too.
In a healthy society or organization, the two general ideological beliefs systems—progressivism and conservatism—are balanced.
Progressivism is needed to move social norms forward: to tear down barriers between people, to expand human rights and the possibilities for human expression, and to free society from the unnecessary restraints of conservatism.
Conservatism is needed to keep a society or organization grounded: to maintain the anchors of meaning for a group (tradition, legacy, identity), to fight for the defense of these anchors, and to restrain runaway progressivism from degrading society.
Think of it like two people: Progressive and Conservative are attached by a rope (society) tied around their waists. Progressive is walking out front, moving society forward. Conservative is resisting in the rear, making sure Progressive doesn’t take society off the deep end.
These past two days, Minneapolis has fallen off the deep end— in part because there are zero conservative voices balancing the scales of ideology. You may not like conservatives, but there’s a reason you’d never see this in Texas or South Dakota. (Minnesota's culture of being passive-aggressive and awkwardness between groups doesn't help, either.)
In all, by some ideological twists and blindness, the person elected to lead a city has defended its destruction. The communities he claims to be fighting for are now the ones most damaged. And by telling them what they're doing is okay, the people he bends over backward to defend will be some of the ones most harmed.
This is systemic. These riots aren't happening in a vacuum. Radical conservatism has worked to establish and maintain inequality in this country—leading up to the present-day tragedy sparking these riots. And as the internet has riled up Americans to polarize into their respective political camps, the people of Minneapolis have chosen ideological exclusivity through their voting. It’s happening more and more across the country—in both directions.
This doesn’t bode well for the future of our political institutions, but it nonetheless offers great lessons for us and for institutions to come. As you get involved in your organizations and have political choices to make, keep it balanced. Perhaps these attached screenshots of the riots below will help you remember.
MLK was wise beyond his years.
That's a great quote. Thanks:) And good to see you here on Hive, man.