Punching Nazis: The Plan To End The Republican Party Excerpt Version | Page 10

BEING RIGHT

Second , we must squelch our desire to be right when it conflicts with or hampers our ability to acquire power . We need to shift away from the defensive posture that has become our comfort zone and toward a strong , confident posture that aligns with our values .

For too long , we on the Left have spent a crippling amount of time pointing to the lawlessness and immorality of our opponents . We enjoy a sense of moral superiority for being “ in the right ” and we pat each other on the back , feeling proud of “ going high ” while our adversaries “ go low ”.

But , to use an analogy , even though we are in the boxing ring with an opponent and our opponent knows the rules of boxing , he has decided to engage in a street fight with us . He spits . He kicks . He punches below the belt . He bites . We are congratulating ourselves for “ following the rules of boxing ” but we are on the canvas , bleeding and defeated and the referee we are appealing to is apathetic , at best .

It ’ s true that we are right . This is a boxing match and the opponent is breaking the rules . But it doesn ’ t really matter , does it ?

Being right may feel good but being in power allows us to do the things that need to be done — and that feels good too . We need to resist our urge to be right at the expense of power or shifting social influence our way .

BEING RIGHT

Second , we must squelch our desire to be right when it conflicts with or hampers our ability to acquire power . We need to shift away from the defensive posture that has become our comfort zone and toward a strong , confident posture that aligns with our values .

For too long , we on the Left have spent a crippling amount of time pointing to the lawlessness and immorality of our opponents . We enjoy a sense of moral superiority for being “ in the right ” and we pat each other on the back , feeling proud of “ going high ” while our adversaries “ go low ”.

But , to use an analogy , even though we are in the boxing ring with an opponent and our opponent knows the rules of boxing , he has decided to engage in a street fight with us . He spits . He kicks . He punches below the belt . He bites . We are congratulating ourselves for “ following the rules of boxing ” but we are on the canvas , bleeding and defeated and the referee we are appealing to is apathetic , at best .

It ’ s true that we are right . This is a boxing match and the opponent is breaking the rules . But it doesn ’ t really matter , does it ?

Being right may feel good but being in power allows us to do the things that need to be done — and that feels good too . We need to resist our urge to be right at the expense of power or shifting social influence our way .