Violence! What is it Good For?

Violence, exertion of physical force so as to injure or abuse, as good ol' Webster defines it, is not the answer although it seems to be at this point in our history. While this seems to be the case since in today's society it has been able to solve some issues, I still don't believe that it is the sole factor or by any means the best way to go about a conflict. For example, our country has been in practically constant war since the Civil War, with some wars being more favorable than others. War and fighting had become part of our cultural to a degree although I do not believe this makes it part of human instinct. Instead, I believe that competition is instilled in humans which then leads to violence instead of the idea that violence is part of human nature. Due to this, I strongly disagree that "the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst" (Starship Troopers 27).

Actually, the other day in my sociology class focusing on the third world we talked about violence and peace discussing the possibilities for the future and if peace could be a part of that future. Our class came to the conclusion that peace was possible, but would be very difficult and would take years and years to establish. Peace can be defined as living harmoniously with others in one's environment, but it also incorporates being at peace with oneself and having the strength to accept one's place in the world and not act aggressively towards situations. Also, because violence is equated with justice in our society, it becomes more common than in other societies. For example, many people who I talked to felt much better knowing that the sniper was executed, feeling like his justice was served by being killed.

While violence becomes a necessary part of politics, mechanism of state and its control, and going to war to protect its citizens. I believe there are other ways to try solving such problems. While they may be extremely challenging to try to instill among people globally, I do not believe that these contrary options to violence should be completely dismissed as proposed in Starship Troopers.