I find that I’m okay with extremism. If you want to hold to anti-Semitic views, okay; if you want to destroy America, fine; if you hate the President (whoever it is) so much that you wish something bad would happen to him or her, cool beans; it doesn’t really bother me that that’s how you feel.
What I am not okay with is the translation of those desires into action.
Do you hate Jews like me? Whatever. As soon as you attack Jews like me: you have crossed over to the Sitra Achra, the “other side,” the side of evil and Hell. That goes for Muslims, too: hate Islam with all your might? … big deal. Attack Muslims because of their faith? You’re evil and should no longer be considered part of the human race.
Do you hate America? Hey, it’s all good. You have every right to feel how you feel, even if you hate America while benefiting from its presence and largesse. But as soon as you take your hate and apply it by harming someone or something else: you have crossed over to the Sitra Achra.
Do you hate the President? Okay, fine. I’m not exactly a fan of the current guy in office either. But as soon as you translate that hate into action, whether attacking him or inspiring others to attack him, you have crossed over to the Sitra Achra.
I would rather have a world that didn’t need redemption. That’s not my choice to make.
But my choice to make is to act in such a way that the world is blessed through my presence in it, and not harmed. I’m not perfect about it; I’ve hurt people through clumsiness, through greed, through my own selfishness.
But I’m here to tell you right now that my intent is to cause no harm. My intent is to repair the world as much as I can. My intent is to preserve and inspire the good in the world, and to maybe influence the evil in the world to be less active, in any way that I can, as much as I can.
Again, I’m not perfect about it. I have harmed others; I will harm others in the future, I’m sure. But I can promise you that I regret the harm I have caused, and will address any harm I cause in the future, with an intent to leaving the world a better place than I found it.
That does not mean “… by leaving bodies in my wake.” Screw that. I’d rather die than refuse to allow you to live.