Concern Yourself

One is not always right when he is guided by love, but his passions for the wellbeing of others are genuine. Those passions can either lead him to ruling the situation by expressing concern, or to being ruled by the situation through fear. When one is guided by fear into doing some action, it is normally geared to protect oneself from having to be afraid (by evolution)--the effect it has on others is secondary. On the contrary, love is an action that motivates a human to do something in the best interests of others, whether for better or worse. How easy it is to confuse our fear and love as our primary motivations in doing something. Good intentions are not good enough, whether motivated by love or fear, but those governed by fear alone only jump the gun.

If love is the pleasuring thing itself, fear is the worry over losing that which is loved. In this way, the thing that is loved is not the impetus for destruction, but rather, the fear of losing the thing that is loved. Fear is as well a genuine force of action though, but all it is capable of doing is calling our attention to danger, to rely on it is to fall prey to needless worry. One can express concern without falling prey to worry--worry is nothing but a furrowed brow, an increase in adrenaline, a impetuous impulse--there is no thinking part of worry because to think while one is experiencing fear is what we call "concern."

All this is a means to say why it is perfectly fine to express concern about vigilantes, child molesters, terrorists, and other workers of inequity where our concern is due, so long as we don't fear them. Expressing concern is when you criticize those who bring inequity and inspire others to see the inequity they bring. Worrying about them is when you submit to their inequity without question because you fear their retaliation, or, it is when you go out of your way to be physically responsible for their destruction because you fear their influence. Worrying focuses your mind on how to evade the aggressor, as it has evolved over millions of years (even when fear is the aggressor)--concern, instead, focuses your mind on how to conquer the aggressor.

When the proverbial good man ducks and covers from fear, and in doing so, gives the workers of inequity a pass, he implicates himself in their works and becomes one of them. The good man who criticizes the workers of inequity as good citizens ought to, casts it in a negative light for all rational people to see. One is either part of the solution, or part of the problem, and passivity is part of the problem, choosing not to choose is part of the problem. An act of non-involvement is tacit agreement with child molesters, vigilantes, and other workers of inequity.

As I've articulated many times before though, this does not mean that after you've chosen to be active (whatever that means) in "the solution" (which is unattainable) any course of action is justifiable. In short, it doesn't mean anything is justifiable, it just means that doing nothing never is.