When talking no longer works

One of the assumptions amongst the left leaning types is that we can all talk out our problems.  Or so it seems sometimes.

You get a Muslim who wants to kill you, like the one who killed Theo Van Gogh.  I recall the story is that Van Gogh pleaded with his killer for an opportunity to "talk it over".  Of course, there was no way that was going to happen.  Words had lost their ability to affect outcomes, assuming that such was ever the case anyway.  If it is the case, it is only amongst those who play by the same rules.  Van Gogh's killer did not play by those rules.

Then you get people in this country who believe that you can talk with the other political party and "work with them".  So, how's that been going?  If you want to know the truth, this is what I believed myself.  If you present your information to them, you could persuade them.  But what happens is different.  You find that no matter what you say, it won't make any difference.  Once again, the assumption is that people are going to play by a certain set of rules, when in fact, they've got their own rules, and your rules aren't part of theirs.

Any more examples?

Maybe the communists v. the capitalists during the Cold War.  The left in this country wanted to work things out with the Soviet Union.  They wanted to bargain and to make deals.  But along comes Reagan, and he just defeats them, and then its over.  Come to think of it, the left really hated Reagan for that.

There doesn't necessarily have to be a war, or violence; but there does have to be an approach that can work.  The winners seem to work for victory.  Those who wait around for dialogue won't win, but may just get themselves extinct.

The problem thus stated is that there comes a time when words fail, and some type of action is required.  When it comes to internal affairs, such as government and politics, that action could take the form of violence, or it take take the form of a movement that may or may not employ violence.  You could have a revolution, or you could have an election that is a watershed type election.  If the elections don't work, then the violence may come later.  One way or another, when words fail, something is going to have to give.

What the left is attempting to do in this country is to change the nature of its society without discussion or violence.  There's currently no discussion, because in order to have discussion, there has to be some give and take.  When there's none of that, then violence of some kind is likely.

It remains to be seen whether or not people in this country recognize this in time in order to avoid violence.