Is violence a necessity?
So, there's this eccentric history professor at my undergraduate college who has a knack for irritating the school's administrators with controversial ideas. I've been thinking about one of his recent articles for a month now, and I can't decide for sure what I think about it. Sparklestone's recent question has provoked me to get a mild discussion going on it.
The full article is currently at: Benching with Berger, The Coyote, April 7, 2005.
In short, his belief is that violence is so much a part of the human condition that it will never go away. There will always be war somewhere in the world. He finishes the article with this:
The full article is currently at: Benching with Berger, The Coyote, April 7, 2005.
In short, his belief is that violence is so much a part of the human condition that it will never go away. There will always be war somewhere in the world. He finishes the article with this:
"However difficult it is for some to hear this and however difficult it is for some to accept this, violence is here to stay and will remain very appealing; war is here to stay and will remain very appealing. The point of education is to find ways to incorporate those facts into a healthy society and into healthy lives."
I can't decide if his personal interest in the middle east has jaded him, or if he's just telling it like it is. I hate the idea of it because it seems to be without hope.
So tell me faithful reader, how does this notion make you feel?
posted by Sylow_P | 7:18 AM
3 Comments:
Thanks, dork. You've scared off all of the serious comments.
Come back serious comments! Come back!
I agree with this professor when he says, "There will always be Cains and wars. Always." But as Jane Goodall found, chimpanzees war too. And their wars are the same as Cain's, all reaction without thought.
Emotion is natural. If you put two roomates in a room things may turn out fine. Put ten in the same room, maybe not so fine. Because emotions WILL run high. But how we react to our emotions is what defines us.
So yes, violence is here to stay. But everyday many of us do NOT respond with violence when our emotions ask us to.
And that ability can be taught and learned.
I can accept that there will always be individuals who commit rape, murder, and the occasional hukah misuse. But are we doomed to always have wars?
Something tells me that our global addiction to large groups of stupid people must either get better or worse. It's not going to be static.
If wars will always exist, aren't they doomed to get bigger and worse as the groups of stupid people get bigger and dumber?
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