Some Thoughts on Extremism

It's a mural of a whale now, but at one time there was this graffiti tag I would walk by on my way to class that said "Death to Extremists!". I loved the irony of this phrase. I mean, isn't death a bit of an extreme punishment for someone who is being, well, extreme? Each day started with a little chuckle as I pondered the incongruity of what was being proposed in that statement.

The campus town I lived in had two sides, the loggers and the environmentalists. They both hated each other and each went to their own extremes to argue their causes. From running over tree huggers to ceramic spikes in the trees, each went out of their way and accomplished little as a result. This was something I never quite understood as it always seemed to me that there must be some middle ground, a place where both groups could get what they wanted.

In playing spectator to this war of the takers and the savers, I came to realize that all fanaticism was myopic, one sided and thus ultimately a poor choice as a route to take. The takers couldn't just take or else there would be nothing left to harvest down the road. The savers couldn't save everything and btw - not one of them wanted to live in a plastic home or a cave, they all seemed to have a general liking towards wood and paper. Somehow, a middle ground, an objective, less fanatical ground would produce better results.

Fanaticism's work against us in all that they are applied to, be it in global warming, religion, harvesting of our natural resources, even in relationships. They ultimately bear little fruit.

For years since, I followed my own advice, but lately I had a moment where I too saw things from a narrow perspective and got carried away.

Missteps were made and I realized, maybe I shouldn't be so hard on these extremists. Maybe at one time or another, every one of us rallies behind something that we really believe in and we forge ahead like moths to a flame, not realizing we will only get burned in the end. Maybe getting carried away is a journey we need to go through from time to time before we can land on our feet again, hopefully a little wiser. Perhaps it is in knowing what the end points are that we find the middle ground we are ultimately looking for.

So in my own journey into the underworld of extremes, I came out the other side thinking that while all of those "-isms" are ultimately not the best way to go, I guess I should give them a break seeing as I succumbed to my own "-ism". In other words, sometimes, despite our wisdom, we still do dumb things. Maybe I should apply a bit more empathy at this point.

With that I say to all the tree huggers, all the loggers, the door to door zealots, the Mac fanatics and Linux users, to all the career folks who put in more hours and work harder than I, to all the A students, the gang members and the Evangelists, and especially to all who want death to extremists, I forgive you. I still don't agree with you but at I guess from time to time, we all get carried away despite our best intentions.