Violence Can Bring Positive Change Melissa Lin
“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because
rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” – George Orwell.
When you hear the word “violence” the first things that come
to mind are probably negative. You picture fighting, blood, and death. Is that
all violence is? The word violence has been misconstrued for it is only ever
used to describe horrid fights or rebellions but there are always two sides to
a story. Despite the common misconception of violence and it's negative effects
it actually has the ability to bring about positive changes.
Violence is not
just inflicting pain. It is also a sign that shows you when things need to be
changed. Only when you get hurt do you realize that something is wrong. Take a
look at the famous Egyptian Rebellion in 2011. The Egyptians had many reasons
to rebel, but one of the factors was the safety of the people. They had brutal police forces that beat,
stripped and stomped and left many people unconscious. When the string of
attacks became continuous the people of Egypt realized something was wrong.
People who were supposed to protect them from dangers were the ones causing
harm to them. For them they finally realized that something needed to be done,
they needed to protect themselves and stand up against the government. The
violent attacks on the people were a sign to the citizens that they needed a
change, and through rebellion the positive change came. The President resigned
and the brutal police force attacks have come to an end.
With the word violence, many associate it with the word power. There are different types of power and I believe that violence requires
self-power.
“Fight for what you
believe in”
A common and well
known inspirational quote that encourages us to stand up for what we believe
in, by conjuring up our self-power. It is a quote used in the present day and
well used in the past. The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the United States
of America were once upset with their government system. They were mistreated,
taxed heavily by the British and furious about having no representatives to
speak on their behalf in their government; and so the rebellion began. They killed,
attacked, and ultimately were standing up for themselves. The Thirteen Colonies
had chosen the violent way of getting their message across and it worked. They
fought for what they believed in, and in the end they succeeded. The Thirteen
Colonies had gotten the British to write the Declaration of Independence. Their
people were overjoyed for their violent battle had won them a new and positive
way of living their life. The United States we know of today has only become
what it is now because of their violent rebellion that provided them of a
solution to escape a terrible, unfair, and miserable way of life.
Violence is a strong
force. The more passion you put behind fighting for what you want the stronger
the force becomes. The stronger the force is the higher the chances are of
succeeding and the harder you will fight to maintain that positive solution.
Only when you have truly fought for something will you want to uphold the
solution. Dig deep in Canadian history and you will discover that Upper and Lower
Canada were always fighting for a democratic government system. Both rebelled
and used violence to communicate their feelings. They lost the rebellions but
the impact of the violence on the British did get us our democratic system of
government. Canadians fought for democracy and so we are always constantly
checking that democracy is still intact today. Come election time they make
sure everyone that is able to vote can choose to vote. They have the House of
Commons that are elected by the people to represent us. Why fight for something
that you have no intention of keeping? The violent ways of fighting in the past
have provided us with a significant reason to maintain our democracy.
Violence should not
always be looked at as the criminal; it does more than just inflicting pain on
others. History is full of violence, but without those violent battles we could
not be living as comfortable as we are today. The acts of violence can heed us
a warning that things need to change, it is a strong force that powers many to
fight for what they believe in to get the positive solution they desire. It is
with violence that propels us to maintain our new and improved positive change.
Misconstrued and shamed violence has always been looked at from a negative angle.
Think about what this awful violence you think of has brought us, a democracy,
safer living environments, and freedom. All positive outcomes that benefit us. Step back and view violence from
another angle and you will come to realize that violence can bring about
positive changes.
References:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2075683/Egypt-violence-Female-protesters-brutally-beaten-metal-poles-vicious-soldiers.html
Horizons Socials 10 Textbook
http://www.landofthebrave.info/declaration-of-independence-facts.htm
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