Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Is Violence the answer?

I am sure everybody has been told at one point or another that violence is not the answer. That is what almost everyone is taught at some point in their life. Despite what we are taught, no one ever seems to mention the effectiveness of violence. We all know that it is not good. We all know we are not supposed to use violence, but when it really comes down to it, violence does work. You can spend hours and hours trying to convince someone to do something verbally, but at any point they can change their mind and back out. When violence is involved, it usually only takes a few seconds to get a person to do what you want them to. This is probably one of the reasons that there are so many wars. Diplomats and leaders can talk to each others forever and there is still a strong possibility that they will not agree on anything. Instead, if violence is involved, things get done much more quickly.
I know this would be an appropriate time to rattle off a list of examples when violence has more efficiently than words alone, but unfortunately, I really cannot name any and it is clear that other people here have a much greater knowledge of these things than I do. For my part, all I can really say is that in an ideal world, violence would never, ever be the answer, but unfortunately, in the world we live violence works. It gets things done and changes things more quickly than anything else in the world. So it is a fact that violence has probably settled more issues in our history than anything else. Violence makes sure that one person gets there way and that the others do not. At the end of the day, it is not the right thing to do, but it is clearly very effective.

2 comments:

  1. I agree that violence, in most situations, gets you what you want. If you want people to listen, violence can be they key. However, it isn't as black and white. Violence can sometimes leave a mess and sometimes, I wonder, if the situation would have been better if left alone. If violence were so effective, we would have no need for these diplomats and leaders that you mentioned. I don't know if I'm making any sense but it just comes down to the fact that violence is definitely sometimes the answer, but in some situations it makes the situation worse. If one were to start a war in another country, chaos would erupt and make it difficult to just pick up and leave the mess for others to clean up. There is no clear answer as to whether violence is or isn't the answer, all we can do is use our best judgement and if a situation requires violence, then so be it.

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  2. I definitely agree with what you are saying. Looking back on what I wrote, I can see now that it was slightly rash. Of course violence has the potential to make things worse, and of course I do not think that the world would be a better place if everyone just blew things up when things did not go their way. But, at the same time, it is clear that violence is effective. Violence is rarely, if ever, the answer, but at the same time it works. It is much better to have diplomats talk things out. It is what should be done, but if you want to get something done quickly and without a lot of effort, violence does work.

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