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A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that inflicts such a toll on the victor that it amounts to defeat. The expression alludes to King Pyrrhus, who achieved a stunning defeat of the Romans in 279 B.C. but lost all of his best officers and many of his troops. After the battle King Pyrrhus declared, “Another such victory and we are lost.”

Far too many, across the political spectrum, are pursuing Pyrrhic victories for their chosen cause while leaving a wake of division and destruction behind them. Empowering principles and enlightened public policy need not be sacrificed for the sake of Pyrrhic victories.

Another challenge relates to Potemkin villages. A Potemkin village refers to the artificial façades used in order to have people believe we are something we are not, or to create an image incongruent with reality. It comes from an 18th-century Russian legend where a local governor wanted to impress Catherine the Great. The governor went so far as to assemble façades of impressive shops, homes and businesses to create the image of a thriving community and robust economy.

There are also many who are living in individual or organizational Potemkin villages of their own making.

The pursuit of Pyrrhic victories and the construction of mental or institutional Potemkin villages prevent us from having meaningful conversations and serious discussions on the challenging issues of our day.

One such example is found in those fighting for the protection of student privacy and those fighting for the LGBT community’s rights of accommodation for transgender bathrooms. Strident voices on both sides of the issue have charted a course that either ensures that any victory will be Pyrrhic or have constructed an argument which is all façade, no substance, and gives no credence to opposing points of view.

The possibility of mutual accommodation for both LGBT and student privacy interests are most likely to be achieved through policies that emerge from broad input, careful deliberation and thoughtful discussion. Recent efforts in North Carolina and edicts from the Obama administration, though currently delayed by a Texas court, are both Pyrrhic victory or Potemkin village approaches to the issue. Both undercut important processes by precluding crucial local input, while favoring an ideological, one-size-fits-all approach.

This is just one current example among many. Changing our public discourse to avoid Pyrrhic victories and Potemkin villages begins when we get comfortable with being uncomfortable and engage in dialogue. We step forward when we are willing to demonstrate the kind of courage it takes to admit we are wrong or consider that those we disagree with could be right or, at minimum, have the right to believe they are right. The Pyrrhic and the Potemkin can be replaced by mutual respect and elevated dialogue grounded in genuine concern for the happiness and well-being of others.

For Sutherland Institute, this is Boyd Matheson. Thanks for engaging – because principle matters.

Boyd Matheson is president of Sutherland Institute.

This post is an edited transcript of Principle Matters, a weekly radio commentary broadcast on radio stations across the country. The podcast can be found below.

Receive this broadcast each week directly to your iTunes by clicking here. 

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