ON VIOLENCE
We have honoured violence long enough - Violence in the form of murder, in the form injustice and in our own selves. Damage to the fundamental rights of any fellow human is violence; in fact harm to the survival of any other being is violence. Thus for one’s survival violence, even in the most subtle form is necessary. Humans, at the top of the food chain are easily the most violent beings on the planet. Moreover, the urban humans who consume processed goods are the most violent of all. Establishing this point it is easy to say that anyone who reads this cannot escape the blame of being violent atleast once a day. Because when you eat a meal, you are being violent to the organisms you consume (unless you know how to photosynthesise food).So, we may say it is very natural to be violent, if we have to survive. However, if we take in the sense of ‘violence’ created by murder, rape and corruption can we justify them by using the excuse of ‘violence is natural for survival’? Yes, we can.
We can justify mass bombings killing hundreds of people in a city, to stop riots that killed thousand. We can justify death of innocent commuters in the name of God. We can justify the exile of lakhs of people in the name of community. Heck! We can even justify the violence of a bribe in the name of ‘lack of time to be honest’. However justification always needs a base ground of morals and rules that help the judge of any event take a perspective, form a point of view and give a decision. Thus justification of an event may be justifiable only with supportive points of view, but perspectives opposing to that act or event will not necessarily hold the justification valid. Like how, the Court of one nation will not necessary uphold the decision of another nation’s Court due to the difference of constitutions and laws.
Thus acts of terrorism, bombings and war may be justified as violence for survival to uphold religious ideals, patriotism and even economy but cannot be justified in the plain sense of the survival of humanity.
I, in this time of mixed goals and confused ideals, take a stand against violence and dare to judge all kind of violence among humans wrong. Violence is against the survival of the humankind. It is against evolution. All ideals of real progress urge people to be less and less violent. Honesty urges us to be non-violent in our words and actions of truth, success urges us to be non-violent by not being lazy at work, and conservation of the environment requires us to be non-violent in our usage of resources. Most of the time, the easy way out is also a violent way out.
And to those who say that violence is only natural; let me tell them that the tonsils are also only natural. But we evolved and don’t use them any more.
