Two sides of the same coin

That “other” side that you want to get rid of? Those people who make your blood boil? Who you call fascist, socialist, nazi, nutjob, libtard, or republicunt?

You need them more than you’ll ever know.

Think of a car that has two pedals. One speeds up the car, the other slows it down.

If the brake pedal stops working, the car keeps increasing speed until it violently slams into a barrier.

If the gas pedal stops working, the car never goes anywhere.

In both cases, the car is useless. These two functions are both required. Only a fool thinks one is more important, because the car cannot function without both.

Human group, such as nations, churches, and businesses, work in much the same way; they can’t thrive without both functions.

All humans are wired with attitudes about change. At one end of the spectrum a liberal attitude (the desire for change) at the other a conservative attitude (to keep things the same).

While humanity needs change, it also needs stability.

These are two sides of the same coin.

Liberals expand our moral and creative boundaries, they try new ideas, they push the gas pedal and hope to take us to new places.

Conservatives maintain order, they hold things steady, they ensure we don’t speed off the edge of a cliff.

Without liberals, we would be living in the Stone Age, because we need someone with a liberal mindset to say “we can do this differently.”

Without liberals the rights and freedoms we take for granted would be absent. New traditions, ideas, and innovations would never get off the ground.

Without conservatives, we will return to the Stone Age, because we live in a complex world where moving just one part can disrupt the whole. We need conservatives to say “don’t touch that, it will break.”

Without conservatives too many new ideas would be tried, some of which would end up disastrous.

To be sure, both sides make plenty of mistakes. That is precisely why you need both: Balance. The system is balanced when both sides are free to analyze, criticize, and debate each other.

So whenever you hear someone say that the biggest danger to our way of life is [the other side] and thus, it needs to be eliminated, remember this:

The biggest threat, is to let either side win. For then both sides lose.

These are two sides of the same coin. Both equally important.

For when you destroy one side of a coin, the whole coin loses value.