Pen > Sword

Carla Gericke, president of the Free State Project and previous NHNovella contributor, decided to host a class for aspiring writers.  The group was called “Pen > Sword” as a play on the ‘pen is mightier than the sword’ quote.  It was scheduled to meet once a week and was designed for about eight attendees.  On the first night, when fourteen people showed, it was evident that this would be a popular group.  Most of the participants already had some project they were either already working on, wanted to begin, or had been kicking themselves for months (or years) because they had started, but never got around to finishing.  When the six weeks ran out, we decided to continue gathering as a writers’ group, meeting to receive inspiration, criticism, and (most beneficial, I feel) being held accountable to get your butt in a chair and do a certain amount of writing.

The group usually will do some sort of short creative writing exercise during class.  Often it involves using a prompt of some sort and taking twenty minutes to crank something out, which then gets presented to the group.  One time, the prompt was, “Look around the room and pick one of the paintings hanging up to tell a story about.”  That was a fun one, because Carla has a lot of funky art on her walls.  It generated a wide variety of strange and interesting stories.  For example, there was one that appeared to be a black, South African woman on a beach surrounded by seagulls.  To me, she bore an uncanny resemblance to Oscar Award-winning actor Cuba Gooding, Jr.  I ended up writing an inner-monologue by Cuba, lamenting the downward turn his career had taken, lately (“I was in Jerry Mc-Fucking-Guire!”), as he strolled down the beach near the movie set of his latest role, starring in  The Harriet Tubman Story.

The group recently did an exercise using the prompt, “What is the Opposite of Force?”  Most of the participants were nice enough to transpose them from hard copy to digital, and allow me to post them here.  So what we have below are eight short pieces, all on that topic.  Despite starting in the same place, they all wind their own way away from that starting point with some interesting results.  Have a look:

“What is the Opposite of Force?” 

…by Emily Sandblade

To determine what the opposite of force is, let’s define force.  In physics, force is the change in momentum over the change in time.  If momentum does not change over time, that’s not the opposite of force.  It’s the absence of force.

So what is the opposite of force?  Physicists would invoke one of Newton’s laws:  for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction.  Does that mean that the opposite of force is an opposite and equal force?

Wait, wait, wait!  How can force be the opposite of force?  Can physicists be completely wrong on this one?  Or is it simply that reducing the definition of force to a mere vectored quantity also reduces how we look at its opposite.

The Buddhists would have us believe that the opposite of force is surrender.  Or unconditional love, which covers some of the same territory.  Whether or not there’s a change of momentum over time–all action flows by with the beholder transparent to the effects.  Non-impedence of force implies not an opposite of force, and therefore not an antagonistic contrast.  Rather it’s a strategy for letting the force pass by with the least amount of damage.

So what is the opposite of force?  Is it, as some voluntaryists insist, always consenting to whatever interaction one is involved in?  If force is defined as making someone do something that they would not consent to, then consent is more an indicator whether force is in use.  But the map is not the territory, nor is an indicator an opposite.

Is it possible to even define an opposite to force using anything but the language of force:  defense, counter-force, resistance.  All of these imply force in response.  And therein may lie the key to our antonym angst.  Perhaps instead of defining the opposite of force, we should be defining the opposite of the use of force.

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…by Emmett Harris

The opposite of force is persuasion.
Force is a wrecking ball. It tears asunder the edifice of all it touches, the shards and detritus a monument to its uncivilized impulse. Force requires no precision, no thought, no empathy. Force is the gaping maw, salivating and snarling before its prey. Force recognizes no one and yields to only whims. The individual is fodder; the echoes of screams and shattered dreams reside in its wake.
Persuasion is art. It is civilization. It is life. Unlike force, persuasion is difficult to master. The patience and skill required rival that of Michelangelo, whose deft hands and vision brought to life the very hand of God. Persuasion is a warm smile and the gentle bloom of camaraderie. Persuasion recognizes all. It places the individual in the rightful state of master of his choices. Persuasion yields to – and is the servant of – reason.
Force ends in death, persuasion in understanding.

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…by Kristine Boncer

The opposite of force, in my mind, is patience and understanding.  Wouldn’t it seem fitting that if there were more patience and understanding of other viewpoints, for slow, old, eccentric, young, infirm, stubborn people, that there might be less force, manipulation, and coercion used to bring them around to a particular way of thinking?  Force is used by impatient people who aren’t getting what they want or feel they deserve in the world.  Force is used to manipulate those who won’t change their thinking to match the powerful peoples’ thoughts.  Therefore, if we were looking for the opposite of force, I would say that the opposite is patience and understanding.

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…by Angela Harris

The opposite of force is a butterfly’s wings kissing your cheek, setting in motion a cavalcade of reactionary responses, both instinctual and pleasing. As the scent of freshly baked apple pie draws you through the maze of an unfamiliar house, leading you inexplicably and without fail to the very heart of the home, so too does the unadulterated heart of pure ideals. The opposite of force is not apathy; it is not inaction – it is persuasion; it is education; it is reaching down to the most fundamental level of the human soul and kissing it on the cheek, tickling the most ticklish parts, awakening feelings of wonder, connection, and elemental joy as the enormity of the interwoven threads of life come into focus. The opposite of force is acceptance, tolerance, and communication. It is collaboration and cooperation. It is reaching deep into the well of experience and commonality and finding another’s hand there; it is grabbing on to those foreign digits with confidence in finding a humane way to resolve differences. The opposite of force is compassion. It is empathy. It is self-centeredness to the extreme of being other-centered, knowing that the “right” way will kiss the cheeks of most if the butterfly is allowed to fly free.
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…by Philip Boncer

The opposite of force is … inertia. An object in motion will remain in motion until it is acted upon by an outside force — Newton’s first law of motion.

In human affairs, this manifests itself as the directions in which people choose to move for their own lives. A person will move along the course of his life, according to his own lights, marching to his own drummer, until his course is altered forcibly by someone or something outside himself. It’s like a field of vectors — all these random lines in all directions, flowing freely as long as they don’t intersect.

It’s those intersections that cause all the trouble. When two objects in motion coincide in space, they transfer energy, exchange force. Depending on their relative paths, this may be a gentle exchange, or a violent collision. They may stick together, or bounce off in different directions. One or both may be damaged or destroyed.

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…by Jeremy Harris

“The opposite of force is the use of manipulation, as we don’t need to make them do it through external means but rather just tell them what it is we wish for them to do, and they do it!” The words oozed from his lips like a sickly residue down a glass vial. I nodded in agreement, enthralled by what he was explaining and gleeful that he was coming up with such technology.

“Now master, you say this recipe is flawless, yes?”

The man before me chuckled, shaking his head. “Oh my poor goblinoid Mie…nothing in the art of Alchemy is flawless per se; however if you brew it well enough you may even control the gods themselves!” Zach let out a chuckle, running a hand through his hair as he moved towards a cage with a human inside. Said human was bare from head to toe, both hair and toenails missing from his body. Forcing the extract down the man’s throat, the liquid slithered down his pipe which caused the man to struggle before halting. “Now, begin to eat yourself.”

The man brought up his arm before his lips before halting again…I was confused, looking to my master. “Then are you wrong? If he refuses to obey, you must use force. Then the opposite isn’t manipulation. You may use force or manipulation, but if someone’s will is strong enough then they can resist both.”

Zach seemed to look distraught, rubbing his chin. “Well,” He said, walking away from the cage. “Maybe there is another answer?” He said this, nodding to himself and grinning. “Or maybe..there is none?”

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…by Brinck Slattery

To me, the opposite of force is Will. Force is an external drive, compelling (with the implicit threat of harm) one to do the bidding of another. Will, on the other hand, is an internal drive that an individual can harness to propel himself forward in whatever endeavor he’s attempting. Force and Will are intimately connected – People who use force are typically people who have a strong sense of their own Will and desires, while people who are the cringing target of the use of force tend to have their Will (and autonomy) continually stolen by repeated trauma.

A perfect example of this connection can be found in examining the various “unbreakable commandments” of many religions as compared to the single commandment of Aleister Crowley’s Thelema – Nearly every religion that makes normative statements about what people “should do” backs it up with divine retribution for violating those norms, while Thelema’s only commandment is “Do What Thou Wilt shall be the whole of the law.” The only punishment for violating this commandment is that the violator Will not reach their full potential as a human being.

Force is like a twisted shadow of Will, attempting to stamp the force-er’s desires and wants onto the Will of the oppressed.

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…by Matthew Leftwich

What is the definition of ‘force’? Interesting question. Libertarians and other assorted members of the freedom movement often talk of force, and all its negatives & perils. Oftentimes, this talking is directed at someone who is positioned firmly on the other side of whatever specific issue is being discussed. And of course, by ‘discussed,’ I mean two people engaging in the equivalent of taking turns banging their heads against a brick wall. Each facing the other with their hands cupped firmly over their own ears, shouting “La-la-la…I can’t hear you!” until they see it’s their turn to speak, or possibly until they are able to successfully interrupt/overpower their opponent’s train of speech.

The point being, in all such interactions, a necessary, but frequently forgotten, step is for the participants to define their terms. Without doing such, it’s difficult to attain any meaningful form of communication, or share any kind of understanding with the other person.

All that being said, my answer to the originally-posed question would have to be something along the lines of : “It depends on who I’m talking to and what we’re talking about.” My idea of force could mean the precise, but effective, application of a wrist lock, if I were talking to a martial artist. Perhaps I would mean force as the overwhelming, overpowering beat-down I just gave the opposing lineman who made the mistake of trying to keep me from sacking his QB. Maybe I would be WTF-ing about why that whole silly spiel about ‘mitichlorians’ was clumsily injected into the storyline, when we all that the Force is “an energy field created by all living things…it surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together.” Of course, I could also be equating force to governments and fire, as George Washington so eloquently did.

So, the take-away from this is: define your terms. Only then can any real chance at understanding develop.

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…by Andre Rosa

Oh, the opposite of force? Aggravation. And I don’t think I can handle it anymore. I’ve had to berate fools and their awful proposals, assuage the egos of the insecure, and feint praise to the asinine sentiments of small minds, just to get the simplest of tasks done. All I want is a cup of coffee, for crying out loud! My eye is twitching.