We would often be ashamed of our finest actions if the world understood all the motives which produced them. – Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Former Sen. Bob Kerrey had an opinion piece in the LA Times last week titled Bravery of Youth, Wisdom of Age. “For those who haven’t marched into battle, it probably seems strange that young men willingly put themselves in such danger; in retrospect, I am just as amazed as anyone when I watch young men and women face the dangers of the violence of war. What makes them do it? … Young people volunteer because they are young. They may be drawn to the excitement of the cause. They may have learned the importance of service from their parents or others they admire. They may hope to acquire the admiration of peers. They may want to see the world, or it may be the least expensive way to earn a college degree. They may also be drawn by the story of a hero myth they have seen, read or heard.”
Its juxtaposition with the collegiate national championship hockey riots over the weekend (in the hometowns of both the winners and losers) was interesting. Hockey win fuels another riot in Dinkytown. Also: UNH Officials Probing Post-Game Rioting.
Star Tribune columnist Doug Grow reported that media people on the scene of the MN riot “… shared an observation about the bizarre behavior of the mad crowd. Each time these celebrating scholars started a fire they’d chant, ‘USA! USA! USA!’ Lindner said he wouldn’t begin to try to explain this mixture of beer, hockey, stupidity, flames and patriotism.”
Everyone’s referring to the destruction by the rioters as ‘senseless’ but of course, that just means we don’t quite understand. There must be some pyschological threads here in addition to biological (male youth, testosterone). Some of it’s the nature of hockey and many of its fans. Not too likely that a golf or swimming national championship could trigger riots. But I don’t quite understand it all either.
When I reread Duc de La Rochefoucauld’s quote (“We would often be ashamed of our finest actions…”) it makes me wonder whether there’s a corrolary: “We would often be forgiven of our dumbest actions…” And could Bob Kerrey’s paragraph above be rewritten to reflect this?
“For those who haven’t engaged in a riot, it probably seems strange that young men willingly put themselves in such danger and cause such senseless destruction; in retrospect, I am just as amazed as anyone when I watch young men and women participate in a riot. What makes them do it? … Young people riot because they are young. They may be drawn to the excitement of the event. They may have learned irresponsibility from their parents or others they admire in the media. They may hope to acquire the admiration of peers. They may want to see themselves on TV. They may also be drawn by the story…”
So, yeah, they need to be kicked out of school and prosecuted. But let’s not be too judgmental. None of us are that far from the same internal and external motivations that drove them. And at times, our country is served by some of those same motivations.