Who are the bigger extremists?
Most opinion leaders, whether politicians, influential businesspeople, journalists, clergymen, or other members of the elite, want us to be good citizens and to resolve society's problems in a calm, democratic fashion. Our politicians, however, are increasingly violating national and international laws - or at least not upholding them - as a way to achieve their own ends undemocratically. They bomb or invade countries illegally, allow uncontrolled migration and use drastic measures to suppress those who dissent. This is the kind of behavior that international organizations, constitutions and bills of rights were designed to guard against. Who are the bigger extremists, the politicians (Obama, Merkel, Putin, Hollande, etc.) committing or abetting these illegal acts, or the citizens who oppose their behavior? We are almost all extremists now, but not all of us have armies, bombs, spies, banking laws and police forces to enforce our extremism.
Glossary of difficult words
clergyman - a priest or minister of a Christian church;to abet - to encourage or assist (someone) to do something wrong, in particular to commit a crime or other offense.