Those words are so simple and so widely accepted, yet we seem to live in a society in which anger is so frequent, in which we swear and cuss at each other, and say we'd like to see each other's heads mounted on our walls. It's a rather silly think when you think about it—your anger ain't going to get you anywhere except madder or in deeper trouble.

The bible talks about forgiving your enemies, and gives the extreme example of god forgiving the Romans for crucifing his son. I know if my son were hung up on a cross to die, I'd be rather angry—and I'd want revenge. I think I would go straight to the Albany County DA and tell him to do something about this horrific murder. Or maybe in my wickest moment, I'd just want to crucify the Romans like they did to their prisoner.

But would that be right? The bible obviously says no. The Romans may have been terribly misguided, and they may have made a mistake, but should the reaction of society be so forceful to punish those responsible? Certainly we need to strike a balance between meaningful action against those who act against a defenseless individual and getting revenge just to make ourselves feel good.

The state today has often failed at revenge versus punishment. We let feelings get in the way, we decide solely and what makes us feel good (lynch the bastard!). At least when we limit revenge to the state it seems that there is a greater fairness as the state is not personally involved (most of the time) in the supposed violation.

Society currently prohibits most forms of private revenge: they are violations of the penal code, at least in violent form of revenge. The individual really can't stand up against evil done against him, and the state is not compelled to protect the individual (we call this procecutorial discression and we give it both police and district attorneys). The state can always turn a blind eye.

So what's an indivdual to do? Absolutely nothing. That's a notion that's maddening to many, especially those who feel as though they've been abused or hurt by another. You have to move on, and try to focus your energies not on the past, but on the future. But can you do that? You have to as our society gives little choice.

You could argue that a solution would be some kind of legal revenage like taking his parking spot or working to ensure he gets to do a sucky job at work. That might work, until you anger your adversary worst and he does something worst to get back to you. And then you have a cycle of escalating anger and distruptive that becomes increasingly unproductive.

Instead, you must love your enemies, or at least embrace them. You may hate a person for what they have done to you, but you should think beyond that and think about all the good they have done for you or what good they will do in the future. Your enemies today might be your friends tommorow.

It's difficult to do, but if you escape your anger and desire for revenge, your life will be much better.