What Would It Be Like To Be A Pacifist?

After reading “On Becoming a Better Student” by Donna Farhi Schuster, I started to think about some of the idea she mentioned. I have always been a curious person. I have always wanted to learn more about what I was interested in, but that stopped in high school. Expressing interest in something in high school was not something I did often. I was so overwhelmed with busy work in school that I was exhausted by the time I had time to actually sit down and research something I was interested in.

Carthage gained her power through the wealth of trade and commere, bringing the northern African colonies and cities of Sicily under control, solidified her dominance in the Mediterranean. Through wealth comes strength and the ability to obtain more wealth by expanding one’s territory, which brought Carthage to desire the Greek cities of Italy also (Morey, 1901). The very cities bordering Rome, leading to the beginning of hostilities between Carthage and Rome.

The Roman Empire conquered land at a previously unparalleled rate, within the known world, affecting its institutions from the rest of the Empire’s prevalence. From Hispania to Britannia sweeping across the mediterranean, gaining Egypt, ending in Persia; the absorption of Carthage and North Africa, and finally the civil war being won by Augustus, all brought upon the negative effects of their conquest. The Empire continued to grow from the year 200 B.C.E. to the year 200 C.E.; this growth had many effects upon the Empire. Although expansion and conquest are often good, seen as liberating, or wholly expansive in mathematical, philosophic, and scientific thought, this is not inherently the case. The Roman Empire’s expansion was not entirely as powerful and awe inspiring as many claim it to be; the greedily performed collection of lands resulted in many negative outcomes. These outcomes largely presented Rome with an issue they would never be able to recover from: empiric decay. The effects of militaristic expansion, of the Roman Empire, resulted in the decay of previously prosperous economic, political, and social institutions.

Pacifism covers an array of views and there are many subcategories of pacifism, some of which I will cover, but the main definition of the word pacifism is the opposition to war and/or violence. Perhaps the most famous use of the word pacifism is found in the “Sermon on the Mount”, where Jesus claims the “peacemakers” are blessed. In this passage, the Greek word eirenopoios is translated into Latin as pacifici, which means those who work for peace. One common and simple argument for pacifism among religious groups or god fearing people is the argument that god’s revealed words says, through the bible, “Thou shalt not kill.”

Hannibal?s campaign was clearly an attempt to use present force to avert an unfavorable future by disrupting the process of strategic assimilation that was making Rome so strong (Luttwak, 1981). Furthermore, as Hannibal continues on his path to Rome, along the way, he accumulated several victories, Saguntum, Ticino, Trebbia, and Lake Trasimene, with each one of these victories moves Hannibal closer and closer to this intended target, Rome. Uniquely, Hannibal?s decision to cross the Alphs was bodacious and catastrophe. His responsibility included leading tens of thousands of men, Calvary, horses, and elephant to be use as an intimidation factor.

Carthage incentive was one the main factors that played into this specific battle (Cannae, 126). In the past and even the present, people in the military have various incentives to defeat their enemies; back in World War 2 we had many incentives for defeating the Germans and Japanese. These incentives included stopping genocide against the Jews in Germany, a

The Civil War, consisting in large part of Caesar’s own account of the conflict between himself and Pompey, explores the origins of the war, the manner in which it was carried out, and most importantly the role of pivotal figures on both sides of the struggle. Prior to his records ending and supplementation by military officers, Caesar makes a case for his involvement in and perhaps triggering of the war, one which would transform the social and political landscape of the Roman empire as battles and campaigns were waged from Spain to Italy, Africa to Asia Minor. Caesar walks a fine line between historian, strategist and orator as he attempts to record historical events, martial decisions, and persuade an audience respectively. Despite his efforts to remain impartial, as evidenced by his admission that “the Pompeians were winning” at Dyrrachium, Caesar consistently presents himself as a charismatic and skilled general and leader, jeopardizing the integrity of the text as objective material and allowing it to be a propagandist account of sorts. Ultimately, Caesar uses anecdotal evidence, the presentation of his personal thoughts, and juxtaposition with his opposition to paint his side of the war in a positive and just light.

People tend to reject new information and used to do things in their own ‘old’ ways when in touch with something beyond their knowledge and experiences. Thus, drive to learn helps people to grow further and know their true selves earlier.

The first Punic war had been a struggle with the greatest naval power of the Mediterranean, but the second Punic war was to be a conflict with one of the greatest soldiers that the world has ever seen. As a military genius, no Roman could compare with him. If the Romans could have known what ruin and desolation were to follow in the train of this young man of Carthage, they might have hesitated to enter upon this war. (Outlines of Roman History, Chapter 15 - Forum Romanum)

Chapter 1 entitled “The Julio-Claudian System” elaborately explained how the Empire’s hegemony required an offensive tactic. This tactic called for an “economy of force”. Riddled with charts, graphs, and maps, Luttwak displays his true military background when he shows the reader where the client states are located and how Rome picked which client states to procure. Any client state that was considered amicus populi Romani enjoyed the financial and political benefits of the Roman Empire while providing defensive measures.

Kurt Vonnegut grew up in Indianapolis, during the great depression, writing for his high school newspaper. In 1943, he enlisted into the United States Air Force and was captured by the Germans during World War II. Vonnegut was one of the survivors in the firebombing od Dresden, Germany, in which an estimated 22,000 people were killed. When Vonnegut returned, he started publishing short stories in the 1950s, which were mostly about technology and the future. This is why most critics classified Kurt Vonnegut as a science fiction writer, even though he didn’t like that label.

Despite the concessions that they made to Rome after the war, Carthage continued to improve economically through trade in the western Mediterranean Sea. They established territories throughout eastern Spain and the northern coast of Africa. Rome watched this growth with trepidation. When the Carthaginian commander Hannibal seized Saguntum, an allied city of Rome, which was surrounded by the territory of Carthage in 219 B.C. “Carthage refused Roman demands for Hannibal’s extradition” (Mulligan, n.d.). With time and trade Carthage had recovered their coffers from the First Punic War, they had established new territories throughout the region, and with Hannibal at the lead of their armies, Carthage felt that they were now the equal of Rome and were willing to defy its demands. Now the military tides had turned, Rome was the definitive naval power, but Hannibal marched to Italy from Spain at the head of a well-trained “fifty thousand infantry, nine thousand cavalry, and a number of elephants” (Morey, 1901, para. 4) ready to meet, and several times defeat, the Romans in ground combat. But despite their wealth and forces led by a military genius, Carthage did not have the regional support that Rome had established. Thus, started the Second Punic War, the victor of which, Rome, would be finally be established as the dominant

Caesar knew that he needed a prestige of military conquest if he was ever to consolidate his hold on power; he risked his own life, and his family fortune, by raising four new legions at his own expense, and against the categorical wishes of the senate, but in the end the risk will pay off. Caesar took it for granted that the liberation of Gaul from the tribes invading from the north, was also a conquest of it. He wasted no time, and reorganized it under Roman authority, with the pretext that in no other way it could be protected. (Durant, 1972).

William V. Harris, an American professor/historian from Columbia University who specializes in ancient Greece and Rome, seeks to analyze Roman attitudes towards war through his book, War and Imperialism in Republican Rome (1979). Since warfare was an integral part of life in the Roman Republic, Harris attempts to provide the reasoning behind their desire to continuously engage in battle as seen through the use of primary sources, such as Polybius, and archeological evidence. Specifically, in the first half of Chapter One entitled, “Roman Attitudes Towards War,” Harris looks at the aristocracy and their general feelings towards war. Overall, Harris claims throughout the work that Rome was a militaristic culture; yet, specifically were more ferocious, violent, and frequent in their warfare than other polities. This is due to the Roman emphasis on military efforts to win prestige and honor that would benefit soldiers for various political and social reasons. Thus, Harris analyzes with regards to the aristocracy in Chapter One, that war was the main avenue for men to garner political opportunities and to gain prestige, fame, and glory. While other scholars, such as Raaflaub and Eckstein, may contend that Rome was simply going to war for money, or engaged in war as a norm of the era, Harris believes differently. The author notes the frequency of war was looked upon favorably by these men as expedient opportunities to prove their worth, and rise in prominence and office in Rome.

Once again, Carthage is going through tough times. But, since we lost, I can finally come home. I no longer have to long for your presence because I will finally get to be where you are. No more long nights, and tough days because it is all over. Most of the other soldiers in this war had died, but I was one of the lucky few who get’s to live another day.