by Hope Darby

Created on: May 19, 2008

Thomas Szasz said, "Two wrongs don't make a right, but they do make a good excuse."

Wise man, that Mr. Szasz.

This goes beyond an eye for an eye, far past a need to do bad unto others who do bad unto you. It boils down to a basic hiking rule: if you head down the wrong trail, turn around, retrace your steps, and begin the trek in the correct direction. Would you continue walking down the wrong path, hoping that by some wild stroke of luck, it would magically transform itself into the proper route? Certainly, if your sole desire is to become so hopelessly lost that you never see the light of civilization again. If you're one of those odd sorts who prefer arriving at your intended destination, you follow the aforementioned rule and change your course.

Now, I will grant you that the acts of retribution, vengeance, and punishment have their appealing side. A man murders your mother, you want him killed by the state. Your younger sibling is bullied at school, so you ride in on your white stallion and beat the bully to a proper pulp, to teach him a lesson. Your spouse cheats on you, so you return the favor with your yoga instructor. All perfectly natural, human responses to actions that have hurt us or those we love. The question remains, however, do those avenging responses make the situation right?

No, of course not. Retaliation does nothing but make the original victim feel better. It doesn't make the original wrong go away, doesn't make it right. Your mother is still murdered, your sibling still got beaten up for no good reason, your spouse still cheated on you. It is important to realize the difference between vindictiveness and vindication. A wrong for a wrong is pure vindictiveness, the need for revenge and spite. These wrongs will never provide vindication, though. They will never someone "right," will never alleviate pain, will never erase the first wrong done. Would you stop being angry at your spouse for cheating, just because you sought your revenge? No. You will simply have an additional emotion of, "Now THEY know how it feels!"

Seeking to make something "right" is more difficult in the present, but serves for a much more peaceful future. If you put in the time to fix a problem, to either atone for your own poor decisions or react productively to someone else's, you will find that you will have less emotional baggage to carry through your days.

Two lefts can make a right. Two wrongs make a tangled web of revenge and regret. It is up to the individual person to decide if they would rather make something right, or merely indulge in vindictive behavior. For this writer, the choice is simple.

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