We are witnessing a strange sort of war. There are few explosions. Gun shots are rare. Still, there is plenty of outrage, anger, and hatred. The oddity is that instead of volumes of blood being spilt ink flows freely.

Why ink instead of blood?

The pen is mightier than the sword… — Edward Bulwer-Lytton (from here (en.wikipedia.org))

America is still a place where even our most seemingly enraged leaders find persuasion more effective and far safer than trying to marshal thugs and scheming soldiers to their cause. Nevertheless, just as the art of war requires the careful application of strategy and tactics so does persuasion. What follows is an example, The one lesson Trump’s enemies just can’t understand by Monica Crowley.

There is one lesson from President Nixon that applies not to President Trump, but to his adversaries on the left and in the media. “Always remember,” Nixon said during his 1974 farewell address, “others may hate you, but those who hate you don’t win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself.”

Mr. Trump enjoys toying with their hatred, particularly as it’s destroying them instead of destroying him.

In economic theory, the law of diminishing returns refers to the point at which profits or benefits of an endeavor begin to decrease as the resources put into it stay constant or increase. (continued here (washingtontimes.com))

Uncontrolled hatred is of little use in both warfare and politics. Hatred undermines discipline. An undisciplined army can be destroyed piecemeal and is subject to ambushes. Similarly, an undisciplined political party is blind to its own failings.

Ephesians 4:26-27 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

²⁶ Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, ²⁷ and do not give the devil an opportunity.