Math Wolf
Level 64
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Personally, I truly wonder why people hope or find it important to anger someone else. Why the need to anger others? Additionally, why the assumption that everyone is (feeling) miserable? Maybe it's just you who is?
The reality, as always, is much too complex for anyone to understand, and too many people involved from any side just want easy bite-sized answers to questions that are often irrelevant and hiding the true underlying concerns.
At the core of it all is the question: how much freedom do we want individuals to give up in return for being a safer society?
Obviously, every person will give a different answer to that question. At the one hand, we cannot deport everyone who doesn't want to give up any freedom to a deported island where they can hunger games style murder and pillage at will. (Yes, that's what it entails. If you don't want to give up any freedom at all, nobody will protect you or care about you being murdered either.) On the other extreme, most people would not want to live in a society where the government decides every single thing in our lives, including where we live, what job we do, with whom we marry, talk, etc. (i.e. Gilead in The handmaid's tale)
And that brings us to the practical consequences of that conundrum. When a government that arguably has a mandate from its people (which can be a point of contention by itself, obviously) takes decisions for all its inhabitants, how far can and should it go in its decisions? Generally, decisions will always be supported by some and not by others. Two extreme examples: If 60% of the people wanted to have the other 40% killed, should the government allow this? Or, if the government wants everyone to not kill each other (murder is penalised by law in most countries) despite 10% people very strongly wanting to have the right to kill an enemy, should the government still implement such a "murder ban"?
The real discussions are much more subtle than that, and it's always worth remembering that you are the only one with your opinion. Everyone else has a different opinion, some quite similar to yours, others may be completely opposite. A minority of people may be able to push or block legislation, and a majority may not be able to get their prefered legislation executed. At least in a democracy you get to choose who represents you (with all the caveats involved). There are enough countries where even expressing ideas about freedom and choice are illegal.
Does that mean that people cannot protest decisions of their government? The answer may be much harder than you think at first sight. In western countries, such protests are generally allowed by law and it is important that people are heard. Government shouldn't govern from their "ivory tower" and keep in touch with the people on the streets as they say. On the other hand, a vocal minority should not always be able to block legislation through protests (e.g. what if a bunch of assassins "protests" by randomly shooting people until there is a "murder ban"?) Because some of the current and past protests have already cost lives, for example through ambulances and doctors not being able to reach patients in time, there is generally a limit on what is and is not allowed. Is this reasonable? Should we allow people to die or not receive medical care because a minority wants to be heard? Should we allow this for a majority to be heard?
I'm not going to pretend to know the answers to these questions. I have my opinion, just like you have yours. And it's very hard, probably impossible, to take everyone's opinion into account and find an acceptable consensus. We may be frustrated and angry when we feel our opinion is not heard. We may find it hard to give up small amounts of freedom even if we know for sure it saves lives, and giving up large amounts of freedom, such as during lockdowns, will always be hard for everyone, no matter the return. But in the meantime, it would be nice if people would not live their lives wanting others to be angry, and have an understanding that having a different opinion is not bad. Because no matter how hard it is, if you live your life wanting other to be angry, you will always be part of the problem and never be part of a solution.
There you go berdan, here's your essay, hope you enjoy it.
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