the destructive element

[Doug Millison]

"how does one go about getting rid of the destructive element?"

Wrong question.  You don't get rid of it.  You smother it in love. How and
why this works remains a mystery, but it does.
The Beatles said it well:  All you need is love.

You can also choose not to inflict unnecessary destruction and cause more
suffering, when you've got enough information to make that choice.  This,
along with the natural cycle of life and death, is obvious in Pynchon's
books, too.