Lily with toy pug, photograph by Bianca Dorso

You were wondering if I made up the part about Lily yesterday, but as you can see here she is quite real.  Moreover, unlike the little toy depicted in this shot, the pug she encountered the other day was also real, and not only that but compared to Lily he was huge, not to mention ferocious.  As you might imagine, the whole experience upset her terribly. 

Conflict is rarely as interesting as one anticipates.  It may start out innocently enough, of course, all fun and games, sniffing each other just to be polite, until someone gets hurt.  And it can turn ugly in a heartbeat.  Yes of course I know how much you enjoy demonstrating your physical prowess by wrestling your opponent to the mat, after which you leap up with a bark of triumphant laughter.  But then what?

The idea that one can throw oneself into the fray and emerge victorious with a swagger and a strut shortly thereafter, muscles rippling attractively, wiping the sweat from one's brow in a becoming gesture, is the great obsession of all saber rattling thinkers. But even a cursory glance at history makes clear the harsh reality.  

Consider the Beagle Conflict between Chile and Argentina which began in 1904, or the struggle for Macedonia which became an armed conflict in 1904, or the many instances of racial conflict, such as that which broke out in Springfield, Ohio in 1904, when the white citizenry marched on the jail, dragged an African-American prisoner from his cell and hanged him before continuing on to the riverfront and the predominately African-American part of town, which they proceeded to set on fire. 

The idea that we can somehow some day enjoy our conflicts without consequences, without injury to ourselves, is an idea some people pursue to the gates of insanity and death.  Surely it's a delusion that ought to be smashed, wouldn't you agree?  And yet, don't we keep wondering sometimes if we might be able to get away with it, have our vengeance, plot and execute the downfalll of our enemies, and then, unscathed, enjoy the fruits of victory?  Don't we all like to wonder about winning big? 

After all, it is so satisfying sometimes just wondering what it would feel like to be right and happy, at the same time.