I have come to believe that it is not an inherent part of human nature to naturally want to fight wars. People are not openly looking to fight wars. There is cause, generally. I feel that resorting to fighting is not the way it used to be. It seems that war was a concept developed throughout time. Now, to many people, it may seem inherent as part of human nature, and sometimes inevitable. Yes, the notion of war is a major part of our culture and is introduced to us at an age when our parents can no longer shield us. Even though some wars should be fought, we can still lower the prominence of war in our culture. It is precisely the display of war in education, movies, music, and photojournalism that brings us to understanding what a war can be like. However, this does not charge humans as inherently evil beings.
I am not suggesting that we are not sometimes evil, or that history should not be taught in order to further shelter our minds from destruction. But, perhaps the best method to stop war from being a reality and solely making it a possibility or cause for concern is by creating alternative, peaceful ways to advance and succeed as a society or country. I think with proper limitations on the study of wars, people alive today can reduce the chance of war in the future with the removal of “war chatter” from cultures worldwide. I think we have only given the image that war is inevitable and inherent in our nature because we so often and readily fight them.
8 comments:
This actually made me think of the culture vs. human nature argument in terms of nature vs. nurture. Even though Mr. Lowen told us it was a pointless argument in Sociology, i think it's valid. The question with regards to war, however, changes to "Can human nature be overcome in order to create a more peaceful world?" i think so, precisely because human nature isn't the issue in the first place. Changing society--nurture--is the first priority. When that happens, war will become much less prevalent.
Like Tess said, your post is centered around nature vs. nurture. In the Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd film, Trading Places, they ask a similar question. They take Eddie Murphy, who plays a homeless man, and they give him all the opportunities to succeed by giving him Dan Aykroyd's job as a stock broker. At the same time, Aykroyd's character is thrown out onto the streets, and in the end, the two characters change as a product of their environment. What I'm trying to show is that a person is a product of the what's around them; values, media, music, movies, etc. In your post, you mention these things that cause war to become part of our culture. Perhaps once these outlets limit their obsession with war, we can move past war.
I really like what you had to say. I remember that we talked about the inevitability of war on one of the first days, and Tess said something that really stuck with me. In order to stop waging wars, we must begin to wage peace. I think your blog brings up a lot of the same issues covered by what Tess said. Not studying and glorifying war is the first step to not waging it.
Wow you make a great point, or at least i think you were trying to make it. War has been raging for so long (Mr. Crotty told us that stat about how many years the US has been involved in war) that in the minds of many people (because they can not remember a time where there was truly peace) war must be an inherent part of human nature.
in addition to almost constantly being in a war. People today are constantly being surrounded by war "propaganda." What i mean by that is that we are surrounded by media, television shows, and video games that promote violence and de-sensitise us. Therefore, we are me prone to going into war prematurely.
I guess growing up in a society where war is a very popular topic and shoves it down your throat every chance is gets, it becomes hard to tell whether or not war is apart of our nature or not. Perhaps changing the society and the way it raises people is the only way to convince people that we don't have to war to settle disputes but with all the nations in the world it seems almost impossible.
This post totally made we think about the topic in a totally different way. I have to agree with you that it is not in our nature to wage war. It is in our nature to react differently to certain situations. It may be hitting someone, or it could be killing someone. I have to disagree about the idea that countries need to look to alternative peaceful ways. It might sound good at the time, but other countries are not going to show mercy to you and wait to see if your peaceful approach works. And when they don't you will have to react to that certain situation, bringing out our true nature.
Brace urself for this comment,
war is not human nature. its human nature to eat then get rid of the waste. It isnt human nature to jus go fight or wage wars for that matter
I do agree war is inevitable and probably will ALWAYS be inevitable. Reducing the amount of knowledge about war in humans will do nothing. just the mere image or awareness will continue. and since defending/attacking is human nature, war can still be inevitable
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