I would say that, as an overall proportion of our world population, there is only a small percentage of people, at any one time, being violent to others. The vast majority of us humans live most if not all of our lives in relative peace.
I know that this is not much solace to anyone experiencing violence, bullying, whether it is in the home, on the street, by criminal elements or the security forces, or in a devastating war where tens or hundreds are being killed, maimed or starved to death daily.
Violence induces such an emotional reaction in us that sometimes when reading papers or listening to radio/TV one would think that the whole world is at war and/or being violent all the time. And all the history that I learned in school (it may be different now – I hope it is) was about violent confrontation of one kind or another.
Since 2016 we in Ireland have been commemorating the violent events of 1916 which led to the War of Independence in 1919 and then the Civil War which ended in 1923. The total casualties of that period amounted to about 5,000 people, quite a substantial number for a country with a population of about 4 million as we were at the time. (This would have been the equivalent of over 50,000 casualties in, say the UK or France). The beginning of the commemorations were marked, in Easter 2016, by glorious celebration, pomp, ceremony, song and dance and military parades.
As I was watching the events on TV, and, like most people, marveling at the well-organised spectacle, I was pondering on the efforts that go into legitimising violence, so that the nation state will be able to recruit and then order selected citizens to be violent on its behalf when the situation demands it. These efforts are so subtle and yet so effective that we are obviously well groomed into believing that violence is an acceptable solution to conflict.
In our highly developed countries in the Western World, development doesn’t seem to include vigorous promotion of non-violence, or, as I stated in a previous post; Our Right To Life.
And conflict seems to energise us in a different way to cooperation.
The Pillars, for example, are continually in a kind of low-level conflict that uses up energy, often sucking the dynamism and vitality out of good ideas that might lead to innovative work. I often observe this seemingly never-ending disconnection in efforts that go into ventures that are set up to assist our Focus Group. (See also this post).
As I mentioned in the previous Chapter the media constantly focus on conflict so that we are at all times in a state of moderate excitement. In my own life and work I have sometimes found myself getting excited by the prospect of conflict. On reflection, however, I usually came to the conclusion that conflict was not what was needed at all.
Getting back to 1916 and subsequent years, I have very mixed feelings about high-profile commemoration of such events, however tasteful they are, with a stunning military parade as the principal spectacle, or show of strength.
This is because I think that they lean too far towards celebrations of militarism – something that we might be better off if we toned down!
A few years ago the then Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, directed that there would be no further overt displays of anything that would glorify gangland culture at funerals of young men who had been involved in criminal activity, and killed during so-called turf wars and other violent conflict.
And how right he was.
Yet I do not hear Church leaders criticising displays that glorify militarism at our national days of commemoration to honour Irish men and women who have died and/or killed others in wars and military conflicts.
Now I know why this is so – gangland killings are, to all of us, abhorrent, whereas our soldiers are there to protect us – and we are proud of them.
This Sub-Chapter will propose that militarism (including the glorious sacrifice mentioned in another post) and displaying (in some countries) domination, military success and expansion as examples of strength is the hallmark of the insecure.
On the other hand, an inner felt sense of security promotes equality, compassion, vulnerability, acceptance of difference, awareness of others’ rights as human beings, and fairness.
If you find yourself interested in an alternative view, read on ……..