Passion and fidelity
by Jack Grant
The prurient will be disappointed, because the title of this post does not refer to the sexual connotations of the words used, but instead the more mundane meanings.
A deeply held belief that could be described as passionate can be admirable, within limits. The problem is that the limits are now more frequently exceeded than not.
The analogy that comes to my mind that will likely be misunderstood by those who exceed the limits is this: The dichotomy of dividing the factions in the United States into “red” and “blue” is more apt than mere chance would indicate, at least to a physicist like me. You see, from my studies I know that if you wear glasses that are tinted too much in the red, then any blue will appear black, and if you wear glasses that are tinted too much in the blue, then any red will appear black.
In other words, the details are lost if the tinting is too dense, the understanding is missing if the attitudes are too strong, the passion of belief overwhelms the vital necessity of comprehension, especially of those ideas not in alignment with one’s own.
Recall the meanings of “fidelity” which include, “faithfulness to obligations, duties, or observances,” along with “exact correspondence with fact or with a given quality, condition, or event; accuracy.”
Mindlessly repeating partisan talking points is NOT a way of keeping fidelity towards the fundamental principles that were the foundation of our government, fundamental principles that most, especially those with the darkest tint to their glasses and the loudest voices, claim to hold dear.
Unfortunately, beliefs held with deep passion often seem to exclude the rationality that underlies the fidelity to fundamentals that any true democratic republic needs to survive.
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