Resonances

     Many objects possess resonant frequencies. A solid object is likely to have one. A homogeneous solid object is almost guaranteed to have one. A prolonged wave at that frequency, even if the individual periods of the wave are gentle, can destroy the object through constructive interference. Nikola Tesla was known for experimenting with this phenomenon.

     Parasitic relations are subject to a similar mechanism. Let’s imagine that one side of a binary system is parasitic on the other, whereas the other side is capable of continuing on independently. If a resonance builds up in their relations, the result will be fatal to the parasitic side even if it succeeds in killing its “enemy.”

     A political system can possess a resonant frequency too.

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     There’s been a steady build-up in the political passions surging through American society. Each side’s escalation has evoked an even greater escalation from the other. Though it’s a form of “constructive interference,” it’s wholly destructive in direction. It threatens to tear the country asunder, severing all amicable relations between the Left-dominated coastland and the Right-dominated heartland. There are many ironies in this. Not the least of them is that the two regions benefit greatly from one another. In such a system, for one side to threaten the well-being of the other is a clear indication of irrationality, if not lunacy. Yet both sides believe themselves not merely rational and sane, but the exclusive possessor of truth and virtue.

     Shall we have a rousing chorus of “This will not end well,” Gentle Readers? Because present trends continuing, that’s beyond reasonable dispute. The accelerating social and political disharmony of the past two decades has already been expressed in violence. More violence is threatened daily. Persons determined to have their way at any cost now plot openly to assassinate their adversaries – and those adversaries just might include you and me.

     I dislike to write about this sort of thing, especially on a Sunday.

     It is likely that the most relevant of the models in the previous segment is that of symbiosis. Indeed, it’s possible that neither the Left-dominated coastland nor the Right-dominated heartland is capable of going on without its “enemy.” Even if that isn’t so, the benefits of cooperation in a competitive market economy are great enough to make the desire by either to destroy the other utterly insane.

     Tragically, in our contemporary political battles, each side considers itself independently viable. Yet it might be true of neither.

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     Despite living along a coast, I’m aligned with the Right. That’s not to say that I don’t dissent from its orthodoxies in some respects, for just as every man’s religious convictions are his own, so are every man’s social and political convictions. That having been said, I would prefer that the nation return to its Constitutional roots, which respect individual liberty and conduce to a high degree of harmony and stability. So I “have a side,” and would prefer to see that side’s values and ideas prevail.

     But not at the price of everlasting enmity toward and from those who hold to different conceptions.

     It’s a problem of some difficulty, for under current circumstances the Left has already decided that it will be victory or death. Indeed, the behavior of some Leftist luminaries suggests that should they not prevail, they’d prefer to see the country destroyed rather than have it adopt the libertarian-conservative course I advocate. That’s a mindset I can’t fathom. Reasoning with it is difficult. Dealing with it seems impossible.

     But here we are. We have no choice about when and where we’re born. We must cope somehow. It’s the great question of our time. Ultimately, it’s the only question.

     And as we search for an answer the resonances continue to build.