Today’s world is chockfull of power and violence. New allegations of sexual harassment surface every day in America. Almost every other week, terrorist attacks and mass shootings cause people to fear for their lives. Meanwhile, the President of the United States is threatening to start a nuclear war with North Korea, while millions of refugees in the Middle East are living in deplorable conditions because of the power vacuum that was created after the Iraq War. With irresponsible people in power and leaders and rebels turning to violence, what lies in store for our global society? Violence and power obviously play roles in social change, but how do scholar citizens reconcile this bitter truth? Using Hannah Arendt’s “On Violence,” Odon Von …show more content…
The dynamic relationships and unique experiences he created mirror a world like the one in which he lived. The state within the novel was taking control of the minds of the youth, using propaganda and a narrow world view to shape their young, impressionable morality. Both Nazi Germany and the state in Youth Without God were training children to be warriors. They saw decency and goodness as weaknesses to be rooted out, but where did this lead them? We are all familiar with the end of World War II and the fate of Adolf Hitler. However, Horvath had no idea the Third Reich was doomed. He wrote this novel because he it was clear to him that the complete power held by the state would lead to corruption and violence. Ironically, Horvath died in 1939 before he could behold the devastation by the Nazi regime that his novel had predicted. Instead, he left behind a brilliant piece of work which we can use to analyze the role power and violence can have on a state and its children. The concepts of power and violence are shown in Youth Without God through the experiences of a teacher grappling with the immoral mindset of his pupils and his opinion of God as a terrible being. The power, in this novel, is held by the state. They control the education of young children by using propaganda and “summer training programs” to prepare them to be soldiers. The headmaster of the school declares that “we are supposed to keep youth at a distance from everything which
Recalling his devoted years to the Hitler Youth program, author Alfons Heck states “I have never once during the Hitler years thought of myself as anything but a decent, honorable young German, blessed with a glorious future” (206). This honesty conveyed by Heck elucidates the selfish ideals of those in the Hitler Youth, a theme apparent in the novel A Child of Hitler. Although Heck’s thoughts are self-conceited, they convey the opinions of those decieved by the Hitler Youth principles. As politically incorrect as these principles were, A Child of Hitler portrays them differently than other literature reporting on the subject. Through his descriptions of daily activities, Heck describes the pressure that children faced as Hitler Youth.
“The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is to a more violent world” (Arendt pg 80). Violence is contagious, like a disease, which will destroy nations and our morals as human beings. Each individual has his or her own definition of violence and when it is acceptable or ethical to use it. Martin Luther King Jr., Walter Benjamin, and Hannah Arendt are among the many that wrote about the different facets of violence, in what cases it is ethical, the role we as individuals play in this violent society and the political aspects behind our violence.
History has a tendency to repeat itself. One of humanity’s most popular ways of getting its point across is through violence. When words are no longer enough to argue a point, human casualties not only directly solve the problem, but symbolically send a message to all those affected as well. Just as the American colonies fought against the British for Freedom when their voice was no longer heard, and just as the Islamic extremists used terrorism to send an evil message to America, both V and Chancellor Sutler used violence to gain a voice in a world of chaos.
Violence, it has been a main tool in the Christian arsenal since the middle ages. From the Crusades to the Inquisitions of Spain, violence is ever prevalent. Even in this day and age, intolerance and violence continue to be preached. But is this violence an instrument of God or man? Is violence an inherent part of this religion? Some would say that it is indeed built in to the very fabric of its being. The Old Testament is full of the smiting of infidels and those who defy God. The Book of Revelations tells of the violent and fiery demise of this entire planet. There are instances of mass genocide, the killing of innocent children, holy wars, you name a violent act and God has called for it. The story of
The characters of the novel are fit to the theme of man’s intuitive evilness, as the boys are under the age of 14. When they continue to enjoy torturing others, they reveal their enjoyment of being savages. They do not desire any order or law of directing force in their state of savagery.
In his Wall Street Journal essay, “Violence Vanquished,” Steven Pinker claims that contrary to perceived notions of increasing violence and turbulence in the world, "brutality is declining and empathy is on the rise.” Pinker establishes this argument through numeric comparisons of death tolls, genocides and other aggressive perpetrations in modern society with those in prehistoric times. He credits the fall in these quantifications of “violence” to the processes of pacification, civilization, humanitarian revolution, Long Peace, New Peace and the rights revolution that have together created an environment conducive to “our better angels.”
What has our society come to these days? Everywhere we look, violence is present, at the streets, at work, at school, and even at home. Every day in the news we see reports about shootings, wars, thefts, drugs, rapes, and deaths. The worse part of seen this in the news is that all way do it’s complain about it and sit back. We do not even attempt an explanation or a resolution. Violence is among one of the most malignant act that has been increasing day by day. And why is it that we complain about other people being violent, but when we are asked if we are violent or if we have ever responded with violence, everyone says they are not violent. But if among ourselves we are not violent then who is it that makes our society a violent society?
Mankind has long accepted violence as a fair means to achieve equality. In human history, the most thorough changes are brought in by the most radical overthrow of the old structure, knocking down the walls that separated the silent majority from the minority, sweeping aside the commands of the oppressors, tearing down the chains of oppression that once trapped them away from their inherent rights of freedom, in an effort to achieve justice for themselves and their countries. Revolutions in particular illustrated that the groups that desire reform but are willing to compromise for stability, take longer to implement changes, while the groups that are more devoted to revolutionary change and are often unafraid to use violence, could implement
What has America come to? Although the articles, “We’re No.1(1)!” written by Thomas Friedman, and the article “Violence is Who We Are,” by Steven Crichley, have different overall subjects, they have a similar arguments. The world isn’t as great as it used to be, we are lacking good leadership, and we happily invite wrong doings into our lives.
Firstly, powerful people often gain power with violence. In “A Long Way Gone,” an autobiography by former child soldier Ishmael Beah,
It is said that up to thirty thousand men may have died at the battle of Hastings, a conflict that occurred almost one thousand years ago. World War II, which lasted less than seven years, has been estimated to be responsible for up to forty million deaths. Thus, many people often ask the question why? Why does such conflict occur? Who or what is responsible? The culprit does not hide nor has it escaped scrutiny and blame. It comes in many shapes and sizes, faces and places. It is called violence and the potential for it resides in every single person on this earth. Whose violence conquers all? It is hard to measure the significance of violence, especially when it can cause so much destruction and death as well as stimulation. However,
It is a part of human nature to want to preserve the self first and then members of one’s community. When people think heavily about the future they begin to fear their own limits and they are more likely to resort to violence. The alternative to violence, which both Breuggemann and Yoder advocate for, requires people to face their fears about the uncertainty of the future.
In order to discuss the modes of violence inherent in any symbolic order, a discussion of violence must precede its effects. It is easy to observe what I will call ‘subjective’ violence; however, doing so taints an ‘objective’ assessment. By subjective violence, I mean acts that we can describe as breaking the status quo or utterly unacceptable; spewing a spit ball, punching a friend, engaging in armed conflict, and so on. Objective violence is the status quo, or systemic acts maintaining the existing order; profit schemes enabling the last recession, government institutions that motivate resistance, etc. For the sake of brevity, I only wish to note that I am conceptualizing the notion of violence in an operative sense, as, I believe, it is the only way to provide an effective critique of
The books Child of the Dark by Carolina Maria de Jesus and Testimony by Victor Montejo describes the lives of two individuals from different societies. In both of these societies there was much hardship and violence. The two main characters who wrote these books describe life through their point of view and explains the hardship and challenges they had living in a society filled with violence.
the change for a peaceful future. In today's society violence is saturating the minds of