Freezing Fog

"If he hits you, hit him back!"-No other piece of parental guidance could be more misguided, since based on a myth. The "Myth of Redemptive Violence" is what theologian Walter Wink called it.

Somehow, the advice is not to be used on parents themselves, siblings, spouses, police, clergy, teachers/administrators or wealthy relatives. I can understand parents' fear that a child will be bullied. I can understand the hope that a child will defend against mistreatment. I can even understand the need to teach a lesson to someone.

What I don't understand is why it's good advice for handling some abusers and not others, some fights but not the ones involving a knife or gun and some non-monetary dealings. Why, for example, would the same parents suggest kissing up to the boss, pleasing the spouse, or sucking it up when in conflict with authority?

A myth is a lot like fog. There's a good reason it develops as it does. Its ethereal nature is both intriguingly mysterious and naively dangerous. With time and in the light of day it usually dissipates, but not before reeking havoc on roads to ruin. In fact, fog is the cause of more damaging accidents than any other natural reaction.

Now, imagine fog that gets stuck, since frozen in time and place.

The Middle Ages were a foggy time in Europe that occasioned misguided religious wars. Myths that fed fears, hopes and needs were all the rage. Bullies were infidels, heretics and witches who deserved retaliation. Violence that was supposed to bring redemption resulted in such disastrous campaigns as crusades, inquisitions and witch hunts. An authoritative call to arms was the cold and calculated trigger to superstitious atrocities like ethnic cleansing.

Ironically, evidence of freezing fog is once again plaguing Europe; this time as a natural consequence mimicking what was formerly centuries of sectarian inclemency. Mother Nature, however, does not permit fighting back. There has been an adjustment made to the myth of redemptive violence along with the world's weather patterns.

Bullied by polluters, mistreated by regulators and skeptics needing to be taught a lesson - nature chooses to give the cold shoulder. The "cold shoulder" of lamb/mutton was reserved for the unwelcome guest. Hospitality demanded that you both offer something and show your displeasure to effrontery.

Nature, itself, seems to be hitting us back with redemptive violence.

Consider climate change a myth, or suck it up!