War and Peace
1310 10/17/12 War War is inevitable when disasters exist, but can sometimes be avoidable when conflicting over cultural matters. Primarily, it is in man’s best interest to provide for himself and his family. Those are his two biggest priorities. When any kind of disaster occurs, he must first look after himself and his family before ensuring the safety of others. A civilization works in the same way. Its goal is to carry out the way of life of the people and ensure that it survives. It will fail to reach that goal if the people in the civilization aren’t willing to fight for themselves and what they believe in.
If some kind of natural calamity strikes or an outside power that is willing to kill moves in and violently forces its own laws, traditions, and customs, the people must take appropriate actions or face the downfall of their own kind. They must fight to preserve their customs and traditions, or move to another place to live. Now if the intruding invader has any concern for the people, but still desires to enforce their laws upon them, non-violence can be used. Non-violence can only be an alternative to war if the force they are fighting against is non-violent.
Otherwise, it will only get trampled upon by a violent, oppressive force. In order for a civilization to survive, it must have an adequate supply of resources for its people. A civilization’s supply of resources can easily be depleted by drought, famine, floods, disease and many other natural disasters. When this happens, the civilization must find a way to solve this problem. If a solution can’t be found while staying in the area, they must find another place to live, but that comes with risks. Going out and searching for a new place is very dangerous and many people may die.
Another option the impoverished group of people might take would be to seek help to a nearby but separate establishment. This puts the struggling group in the hands of the healthy one. It is then up to the healthy group to decide if they are going to share their resources or deny it to them. The denial of aide will displease the struggling group and they might have to turn to violence to protect their people. This is because no compromise can be made and both groups are looking out for themselves. Humanity’s natural instinct o survive is the primary reason why violent wars are inevitable. As I have mentioned before, a civilization’s goal is to do anything they can to ensure the prominence and survival of their culture. The Crusades of the middle-ages are a perfect example of acting out on this cultural pride. In 1071, the Catholic Church had previously lost access of the Holy Lands to the Turks. They make a comeback in 1095, at the main series of the Crusades. A lot of conflict and fighting occurred at this time and lasted until 1291.
Due to the reason they were fighting, war could have easily been avoidable. The Christians and the Muslims weren’t necessarily fighting for resources, but for the right to own the Holy Lands. The reason both religions wanted it was because both had ties to it. Since they weren’t fighting for resources, they should have been able to share the land without bloodshed. Both should have been able to exist with each other without conflict. Non-violence can be an alternative to war, but only if the people’s lives are a factor in the opposing force’s power.
When the British were controlling their colonies in India, they were imposing taxes and trade. The British were using India for its own economic benefits. If the British started killing off the Indians, then there wouldn’t be anybody to pay them their taxes, not to mention it could start a war neither party could afford or want. Even if the British decided to get violent against the resistance, non-violence would have still been effective. This is because the British would use violence to induce fear, but at a cost.
Since the British economy is dependent on the population of the people, they would actually damage themselves if they were to kill. When people are faced with the options to either fight or die because of competition over resources, they will chose to fight and war will occur. Some wars and conflicts in the past could have been avoided because both parties were intolerant of each other but wanted the same land. In this case, conflict should never have happened, and compromise should have been the solution.
