Meaningless Threats That Still Control Us
Is a life without threats even possible?
Threats are always nasty to deal with, regardless of whether we threaten someone or someone threatens us. ‘Do this or suffer the consequences of your disobedience’ belongs with the dark arts. It is a fast way to get someone to do what you want them to do when they don’t, but it is so short-term based that it is no wonder it never lasts for long, at least in historical terms.
They Are Everywhere
Yet, threats are everywhere. Parents threaten children and children threaten parents. States threaten citizens and citizens threaten states. Threats, seemingly, are the bread and butter of placing boundaries between individuals. Threats, if we want to be grandiloquent, are the pillars upon which civilisation rests!
They are so ingrained in our minds that we don’t see most of them, deeming them part and parcel of human relations instead. I am not saying we should start spotting threats everywhere and hysterically confront everyone who issues them; rather, I think it’s useful to understand threats, to see them for what they are, to let them inform our actions and reactions.
Threats Define Us
As you may have surmised, I deplore threats. I hate threatening people even more than I hate being…