There’s a story about a southern farmer who volunteered for the Southern Cause at the beginning of the War Between the States. He was quickly captured by the Union, paroled, then sent back home. While home, his two sons, curious about a Union camp nearby, decided to pay it a visit. There they found friends and were given coffee and crackers. Naturally, this led them to joining the Union’s Cause.
Of course the father was upset when he heard of this, and so he went to the Union camp with the intention of knocking sense back into his sons. When he arrived, he was also met with friendly faces and coffee and crackers. Naturally, then, he decided to switch sides and join the Union with his sons.
The first instinct here, especially for the typical reader of this newsletter, might be to scorn the farmer as a traitor. That his first instinct to fight for his homeland was honorable, and his switching sides after merely being treated well and provided free refreshments was dishonorable. In one sense, this is not necessarily an incorrect reaction to this story.
However, remove any sort of ideological leaning, and simply take the story for what it is. One, it’s humorous. Two, it depicts a stark reality: some people just want a good time and coffee and grub; the Cause, whatever it may be, is secondary. The conviction behind your Cause does not need to be adhered to by every convert brought in. Some come just because you have better amenities. It’s best to respond to this accordingly.
Interestingly enough this is why there’s a movement to the right currently. The left berates you for anything short of total conformity to their religion while the right is just trying to reel in the insanity.
Come to the dark side. We have cookies.