Today is the anniversary of the duel between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, in which Vice President Burr shot former Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, who later died.  The duel was over some remarks that Hamilton may have made about Burr.  Repeated correspondence between the two did not settle the manner, so pistols were used to end it.

Dueling has fallen away from popular culture for the most part, but would our society benefit from its return?  Would a ritualized confrontation between two people, one of whom is expressing a grievance and another who is denying it, lead to more efficient problem resolution?

Let’s assume for a moment that dueling would be the last resort for gaining satisfaction for the aggrieved party.  Maybe you have to go through a sequence of asking for an apology or restitution, then go through the courts, and then you can ask to be met on the field of honor.  Possibly the things for which a duel could be demanded could be limited so that young men and women aren’t shooting, slashing, or stabbing each other with too high a frequency.

Would politicians do stupid and illegal things if they knew that the people they were hurting could demand satisfaction at dawn using knobkerries?  Could the shrieking classes on both side of the political aisle survive if those they were shrieking about could walk up, slap them across the face, and invite them to hash it out with sabres in front of the cameras?

My gut tells me things would get a lot better once folks figured out that being a lying, cheating, insulting twit could get you hurt in a rather sticky manner.

What say you all?

A man should be upright, not kept upright. — Meditations, Book III

My Take – The true sign of a mature person is that they are not only able to stand on their own two feet, but that they demand that others not support them.  There is no shame in accepting help when it is necessary, but it should only be accepted when absolutely necessary.  Conversely, those who demand that someone help them, provide for them, or protect them when they are perfectly capable of doing it themselves are nothing but large children.